


Conceptions of a Spiritual World

by Zemba



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Depression, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Self-Harm, Suicide, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2018-12-12 03:07:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11728227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zemba/pseuds/Zemba
Summary: At the beginning of the school year following the events of the Winter Cup, Kuroko's parents are brutally murdered and Tetsuya himself goes missing for three months. When he is finally found in late July, everyone is relieved that he appears to be physically okay, but he is clearly traumatized and refuses to talk about what happened to him. His friends try to pry anyway, and strange things begin to happen, particularly at night...(More relationships may be added as I continue writing.)





	1. Jolted

**Author's Note:**

> This probably goes without saying, and since this is a fan work site, I'm not even sure if this is necessary, but in case it is... DISCLAIMER: I sadly do NOT own Kuroko no Basuke.  
> ...Yeah, that was pretty obvious, right? XD  
> Anyway, on with the story:

_ A simple-looking, white house with a porch; a small and tidy front yard; and a fence surrounding it. Why do I get the feeling that it makes sense this is the place where Kuroko-kun lives? It… suits him somehow. _

It is a cool afternoon in late April as Akashi strolls down a neighborhood’s sidewalk and towards Kuroko’s home.

_ It seems they forgot to lock the gate. That’s odd… _

Frowning, he pushes open the gate and steps through, carefully closing it behind him.

_ Perhaps he expects me to ring the doorbell? But he said he’d be waiting outside, and if anything, I’m a few minutes late… _

_ No, it’s probably nothing. I shouldn’t be getting worked up over such trivial things. _

He shakes his head and continues on the walkway leading up to the porch, then freezes as he notices something that nearly makes his heart stop.

_ “...Why is the door open?”  _ he breathes.

He slowly looks around him, but sees nothing else out of the ordinary.

_ Maybe… maybe he’s just about to step out…! _

“Kuroko-kun?” he calls out in a shaky voice.

No response. The door remains slightly ajar; the house remains quiet.

Akashi takes a deep breath before finally walking up the steps leading to the porch. He stops there and waits for a few seconds… then musters the courage to raise a trembling hand and knock.

The door moves from the force of his nervous knocking, opening inward slightly further. Through the crack, he sees nothing but darkness.

_ Come to think of it, I noticed the windows were shuttered as well… _

“Kuroko? Are you home?!” he calls again while lifting his right hand and ringing the doorbell.

…

There is still nothing but silence in response.

_ Something is wrong. I need to go in! _

He raises his left hand and slowly pushes the door open yet farther inward-

_ I’ve seen this before. There will be blood… _

Sure enough, small dry blood stains blot the wooden surface of the hallway.

_ Yes, I’ve seen this before, far too many times… I must find him before I wake up! _

He sprints down the dimly-lit hall, racing past the living room to his left, where Kuroko’s parents lay lifeless… He has seen it many times before; he does not need to remind himself of their grisly fate.

He darts up the stairs, nearly tripping in his frantic state, and rushes across the upstairs hallway and bursts through the door, into what he can only assume is Kuroko’s bedroom.

...Or at least, that’s where he remembers there being normal bedroom furniture: a bed, a dresser, a closet, a desk... And above that desk was a framed photograph of Kuroko and his former teammates, along with Moimoi, gathered together for his birthday celebration on the basketball court that past January.

Only this time, none of that is there. The room is completely empty, wooden and barren. But thankfully, unlike the hallway below, there is no blood.

Sunlight streams in from the window to Akashi’s right. Stunned and unsure of what else to do, he stumbles over to it to look outside, but he sees nothing but a blinding white light.

_ “Akashi-kun,”  _ a soft, familiar voice whispers from behind him.

Akashi whirls around and finds none other than Kuroko standing in the doorway. He wears a plain white robe, as though he were dressed as a patient in a hospital. Despite being on the shorter side, the robe is a perfect fit, short enough on him to reveal the shackles that bind his ankles. As Akashi’s widened eyes slowly move up Kuroko’s figure, he sees that his friend’s wrists are shackled as well.

Finally, he looks up at Kuroko’s face. His hair had grown, now long enough so it covers his eyes. But Akashi can clearly see the tears that stream down his hollow cheeks.

He leans forward to approach his friend…

_***_

...But he jolted awake as he heard Kuroko’s voice echo in his fading dream:

_ “What took you so long?” _

Akashi gasped and cried out,  _ “I’m sorry! I’ve done everything I can!”  _ Sweating and trembling as he sat up in bed, he gripped the maroon sheets with his pale hands.

“Please believe me…”  _ We’ve all been looking so hard for you! Every day…! _

“...?” Akashi froze and fell silent to listen to a familiar sound…

_! My phone! _

Ever since Kuroko had gone missing on that horrifying day in April, he had kept his phone on and by his bedside at night, just in case if news were to arrive while he tried to sleep.

He quickly reached out to his right and snatched the bright-red phone from his nightstand; he flipped it open and checked the caller ID before answering-

_ “‘Murasakibara’?” What is this about? _

He accepted the call and cautiously held the phone to his ear, as though it were the loud and flamboyant Kise that was calling.

“Wh-what? Yes?” Akashi tried to keep his voice steady, but to no avail. “Why are you calling in the middle of the night? D-did something happen?”

_ “Hey, Aka-chin, let me speak~”  _ Murasakibara droned from the other end. But he didn’t sound as laid-back as usual (although this had been how he spoke for the past three months).  _ “Listen, this is important. They… they found Kuro-chin!” _

“...What? What happened?” Akashi asked again, incredulous.

_ “Hey, don’t tell me you don’t believe me! It turns out Kaga-chin found him somewhere. I’ve been helping him call everyone to come and see him when he wakes up. Half of us are already here at Asaka General Hospital-” _

_ *Klak!* _

Akashi practically leaped out of bed without any more hesitation.

_ The police kept telling us that, surely, he’s dead by now. _

He threw open his closet door and hastily grabbed a jacket and a pair of jeans.

_ Maybe they were right. Perhaps he won’t wake up- _

He shook his head furiously while pushing his arms through the jacket’s sleeves.

_ No. I can’t think that right now! _

He marched across his bedroom…

_ Even if he never opens his eyes- _

...then nearly fell down the stairs in his hurry…

_ -even if I’m still dreaming- _

...then finally reached the front doors.

_ “Master Seijurou! Where are you-!?” _

The door was slammed shut behind him; he sprinted across the huge front lawn, ignoring the guards’ concerned calls.

_ -I’m going to see him this time. I’m going to find him…! _

_...Wait.  _ He abruptly came to a halt in front of the gates.

_ What am I thinking? If I want to get there faster, then I should just ask my chauffeur… _

He took a deep breath before turning to one of his guards, who was charging towards him.

_ Calm down. Just… calm down! As long as Father isn’t awakened by all this racket, then I should be fine… Most of my servants have been especially eager to help me since Kuroko-kun first went missing, so I should be fine… _

_ It’ll all be fine. _

_...Right? _

 

_ * * * _

 

Traveling by car was a smart decision. Akashi arrived in no more than ten minutes.

“Master Seijurou…” the chauffeur muttered with concerned eyes after parking, “...would you like me to accompany you?”

Akashi locked eyes with him in the rearview mirror. “...I’m fine. Thank you.”

The chauffeur sighed as Akashi opened the door. “Please contact me if you need anything.”

“Yes.”

And with that, the door closed and Akashi could be seen running towards the hospital’s entrance.

“Sigh, I hope Kuroko is alright, so the Young Master will be able to sleep well once again…” The chauffeur shifted in his seat as he turned off the car, planning to stay nearby in case Akashi needed him. “I can tell that he has had many restless nights since that traumatic event. To think he walked into such a gory crime scene...!”

 

_***_

 

The hospital’s waiting room was half empty and mostly quiet, as it was only three in the morning. Sitting in/standing/pacing by the row of chairs near the window were Kagami, Kise, and Midorima.

Kagami was pacing back and forth as he talked to Riko on the phone, for he had decided to call everyone on the team. He felt wide awake, despite being in the process of pulling an all-nighter; after he had found a skinny and unconscious Kuroko lying on the basketball court where they originally met, taking him to the hospital, and identifying him, he was questioned by the police for about an hour. Once he was ruled out from being a suspect, he was transported back to the hospital, where he proceeded to call the Generation of Miracles and his teammates. So far, no one from Seirin High had arrived and most of them didn’t even answer their phones, but Kagami was able to get ahold of Hyuga, Kiyoshi, and now Riko, who all assured him that they would come as quickly as they could.

While Kagami finished up his call with Riko, Midorima anxiously looked out the large window behind the chairs, getting up and sitting back down in spite of himself. He tightly gripped the lucky item for Aquarius that day, a small Teddy bear, in his left hand (he had purchased it from the gift shop earlier). Kise sat next to Midorima and watched the two of them move around continuously while he nervously fidgeted with the collar of his T-shirt. Murasakibara was meanwhile at the vending machine, getting his seventh package of mini chocolate chip cookies and fifth soda. Moimoi was in the bathroom, and had remained in there for the past ten minutes.

“OK, yeah. See you soon,” Kagami finally finished the call and hung up, but he resumed his pacing with his hands in his pockets, his back hunched over slightly. Midorima suddenly stood up with widened eyes, still glued to the window, then sulked back into his seat once again.

“I thought I saw Akashi, but I was mistaken,” he murmured.

Kise sighed for the eighth time that minute, looking around the waiting room as though Akashi and Kuroko would magically pop out from behind a row of chairs or a small group of people. The hushed and tired atmosphere of the room only made things worse--the silence seemed to intensify their stress. After just over three months of worrying and trying to call and text their missing friend, of making “Have you seen me?” posters and taping them on every inch of public space, of sleepless nights and less-than-stellar games during the Inter-High, they felt they were finally moments away from discovering Kuroko’s fate.

As joyous of an occasion as it was expected to be, they couldn’t help but worry that their friend was not as “fine” as Kagami claimed he appeared to be when he was found.

Kise was desperate to have a conversation, but he couldn’t think of any topics that wouldn’t just add to their worries. But he had to speak, for his own sanity’s sake.

So he finally looked up at Kagami and spoke: “K-Kagamicchi, um…”

Kagami, who happened to be pacing near Midorima, finally stood still and turned to face Kise. “What?”

“Well, I was just wondering…” The blonde looked towards the vending machine across the room, where Murasakibara was taking his time in getting yet another snack. “What were you doing out so late? Did you just feel like playing basketball for some reason?”

Kagami shrugged, looking out the window along with Midorima. “Not really. I just wanted to get outta the apartment. Couldn’t sleep. So I went out for a run and happened to pass by the court where… where Kuroko and I first met last year, and I thought I saw something weird… I went onto the court to check it out, and…” He shifted his gaze to look farther down the aisle of chairs and spotted a female nurse walking towards them.  _ “...and there he was…” _ he finished, barely audible.

The others seemed to sense the woman’s presence. Moimoi suddenly emerged from the women’s restroom, looking as though she had been crying; Murasakibara joined her and marched with her from the vending machine--they each looked straight at the nurse and walked with purpose; Kise stood up and faced the nurse along with Kagami; Midorima followed suit and did not sit back down this time; and finally, Akashi quickly walked through the hospital doors and headed straight to where everyone else was going, without even stopping to blink.

By the time the nurse reached Kagami, the whole group was gathered around her, holding their breath and waiting for the moment of truth.

The nurse’s lips formed a small smile as she said, “Kuroko is awake and appears to be stable and in good physical condition…”

Everyone let out a sigh of relief in unison.

“But…” the nurse continued, the smile having faded.

The group of teens tensed up once more.

With sorrowful eyes and a soft voice, the nurse reported: “We have discovered that your friend has had a spinal cord injury, and is paralyzed from the waist down…"


	2. Shoved

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so you all know, I doubt I'll usually be able to update this quickly. I got lucky this week!

_ Earlier that same year, in late-April… _

 

Kuroko seemed quieter than usual that day. As he and Kagami left school after the bells rang on a Friday afternoon, Kuroko had stopped his friend by the school gates. He was looking everywhere except right at Kagami.

_ “...What?  _ What is it already?” Kagami asked, growing impatient.

Kuroko, after a pause, finally took a breath and looked straight at Kagami, his brows furrowed with determination. “Kagami-kun, I need you to look after Nigou this weekend, starting today.”

“O-oh, that’s it? Sure, I can do that-  _ Wait, what?!” _

Kuroko abruptly bowed. “I’m sorry for asking this of you on such short notice, but I really need you to do this.”

“Wha- H-hey, don’t apologize, just tell me  _ why  _ already!”  _ I get along with Nigou way better than I used to, sure, but I’m not gonna let Kuroko keep any more secrets from me. _

Still bowing, Kuroko answered quickly: “My parents are finally home for a short break from their jobs.”

“Oh, right, I remember you telling me that.”

“Yes, and one of their friends is visiting, but he is allergic to dogs. So please, Kagami-kun, I need you to take care of him this weekend!” he finished with a hint of desperation.

_ Sounds like he didn’t really think things through. But fine, I actually really like Nigou now. Taking him for walks and stuff sounds like fun! _

“Sure, I’ll do it. My dad doesn’t come home from America until next week, so it’s not a problem.”

Kuroko finally straightened his posture and looked up at Kagami again with wide eyes. “Really?”

“Um, y-yeah… Geez, don’t make such a big deal out of it, just give me the stuff he needs…” Kagami looked away from his quirky friend awkwardly, not sure of what to make of his exaggerated gratefulness.  _ I know he’s been more expressive lately, but... _

“Oh, right. I suppose I  _ should  _ give you his food and leash…” Kuroko muttered thoughtfully, now staring off into the distance somewhere beyond Kagami’s shoulder.

“Argh, you  _ really  _ didn’t think this through, did you…”

“My parents didn’t give me much notice. I asked Aomine-kun last night, but he said his mother wouldn’t allow a dog in the house. You’re the only other one I trust with Nigou for more than a day.”

And with that, Kuroko led Kagami to his house to hand over Nigou and his items.

His parents were not home. They were out shopping, buying the necessary food items to make a big dinner to celebrate how the whole family was together again for the first time in months.

 

***

 

Kuroko did not show up at practice the following afternoon. No one, not even Kagami, could get ahold of him via cell phone. Riko told Kagami that he could go to his friend’s house to look for him if he jogged the whole way, without stopping to take a break. So he did.

But as he, jogging on the sidewalk, finally reached Kuroko’s street, he could already sense it.

The atmosphere was strewn with tension so strong, he nearly tripped over his own feet. But instead, he managed to simply slow himself down to a brisk walk.

...And then he sped up to a sprint upon seeing flashing blue and red lights up ahead, in front of Kuroko’s house. He could see police cars, then the yellow tape, then individual officers rushing back and forth, and--

One of the officers stopped him and questioned him.

“Are you a friend of the family who lived here?” the man had asked him.

But Kagami could not take his eyes off of the house. He  _ saw _ the officer motion for him to come over, but he could not  _ hear _ anything. Still in shock over something he had yet to understand, he breathed, “...Kuroko… Where’s Kuroko? What happened??”

“...Sigh, I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but…”

 

***

 

By the time the investigators finished questioning Kagami, night had already come. When Kagami stepped out of the police station and checked his phone, he was startled to see how many texts and voicemails he had.

But rather than calling his worried coach and teammates back, he tried calling Kuroko for the upteenth time that day.

No answer but voicemail again.

When the tone beeped, he could not think of anything to say. He had already left his friend several messages earlier, before learning the truth. He had told him to “quit hanging out” with his “Miracle buddies”, as he had been doing so quite frequently since the Winter Cup ended, and to “get the hell over here to practice”.

But now that the situation had changed drastically…

If the police were right in assuming that Kuroko had been abducted, then would he even have his cell phone with him? It had yet to be found in his house, but his captor would probably make sure that he could not have contact with anyone else. So was there even a point in leaving a message? Would Kuroko ever hear it? And if he did, would it somehow encourage him to not lose hope?

...Was there still even a  _ living _ Kuroko to talk to?  _ What if the person who killed his parents also-?! _

After three minutes of stunned and panicked silence from Kagami, another beep was heard, signaling the end of the recording.

_ ‘...one of their friends is visiting, but he is allergic to dogs.’ _

_ “Shit…!”  _ Kagami forcefully snapped his phone shut and punched a conveniently-placed telephone pole he happened to be standing next to with his free hand.

_ There was obviously something weird going on yesterday! I should’ve pushed him to tell me more, I could’ve  _ done  _ something…!  _

_ “Shit!” _

His vision became blurry.

He had learned from the police that it was Akashi who had discovered Kuroko’s dead parents that day, and the rest of the Miracles were called in for questioning as well. They were not considered suspects by any stretch, but since they were the few people who knew Kuroko so well, the investigators simply wanted to find out if they might have known anything about this, his parents, the “friend” they had over, or where Kuroko might be.

But of course they didn’t; this had taken everyone by complete surprise. Only Kagami was aware of this mystery “guest” that the Kuroko residence was supposed to have over, but there was otherwise nothing that gave any officer a lead.

Kuroko’s parents had been brutally stabbed multiple times in their face and torso; it was a very personal murder that the police suspected was an act of rage.

Kagami had seen the pictures. For whatever reason, the police had decided to show them to him.

Kuroko’s father had fallen to the floor and lied there in the fetal position, his left hand over his abdomen, where the most amount amount of blood had poured from. His neck was slit with a single deep slash, and his left eye was missing… Kagami couldn’t even see a socket, just a large, bloody hole. The father’s mouth was still wide open, as though he had been screaming up until his moment of death.

Kuroko’s mother didn’t look like she died any more peacefully. She sat slumped in a chair, her mouth slightly ajar and her eyes still wide. Based on the purple bruises on her cheeks and forehead, she seemed to have taken a beating before being stabbed in her lower abdomen, from which something akin to a bloody string protruded from…

Kagami had never seen or met Kuroko’s parents before, and now he couldn’t even remember what their hair color was, or what the mother’s eyes looked like. All he saw when he thought of them was crimson red.

_ If the person who… who did  _ that  _ to his parents also kidnapped Kuroko, then… _

His knees began to feel weak.

_ No…! _

He hastily wiped his eyes and took his fist off of the pole.

_ Maybe… maybe he just ran away and he’s hiding somewhere… Hiding from the killer! He  _ is  _ good at being invisible, after all… He doesn’t even need to try! _

Kagami weakly chuckled at the memories of being scared by Kuroko last year that had suddenly resurfaced. It felt good to smile, even if it was a pained one.

_ Every time it seemed like he wasn’t there, it turned out he was in plain sight all along! _

_...Wait. In plain sight, huh? _

He started running.

_ He could be hiding somewhere obvious! Maybe he’s at Seirin or Teiko, or one of the Miracles’ schools…! _

But he was nowhere to found, a place “obvious” or otherwise. Three painful months of searching, worrying, and even praying for him began…

 

***

 

On the same night that Kagami found Kuroko, he had had a strange dream before waking up and jogging to the basketball court…:

Kuroko is wearing a plain white robe, as though he had just escaped from a hospital, and looks dreadfully skinny. But as he and Kagami face each other on the school roof, his eyes are bright and he holds up a megaphone, smiling.

He turns to face the entire school body, which waits on the ground below for the morning assembly. Standing at the roof’s edge, Kuroko inhales and speaks into his device:

“My name is Kuroko Tetsuya. Can you all see me?”

The students on the ground pay no attention to him, despite the echo the machine created; they continue chatting with one another.

He tries again: “I am Kuroko. Can anyone hear me?”

Still no response.

Kagami walks over to his friend, who now faces him with a confused expression.

“They don’t know I’m up here, Kagami-kun. It’s like I don’t exist to them.”

Kagami smirks. “That sounds normal, considering it’s  _ you  _ we’re talking about.”

Kuroko sighs heavily and drops the megaphone, letting it crash onto the roof’s surface beside him. “I should go down there and introduce myself, where I’ll be closer to them.”

It suddenly occurs to Kagami that the metal fence that usually surrounds the parameter of the roof, acting as a safety restraint, is not present.

But it doesn’t concern him. It allows him to get a good view of the students standing below. His eyes scan the crowd, looking to see if he can spot any of the basketball team members…

There is another horrible crash, but this time farther away and less metallic-sounding. ...In fact, it was more of a sickening **_*KRAK-thump*_** than a crash. The students are now screaming, their eyes widened in fear and shock.

Even though Kagami is all the way up on the roof, his vision seems to zoom in on Kuroko, whose head now lies in a pool of blood. His body is contorted; his elbow juts out at an unnatural angle, and his foot is twisted so his toes point behind the calf.

_ What…? _

Kagami frantically looks to his right, where Kuroko was standing just moments ago, but he is no longer with him.

The doors to the roof bang open. Kagami whirls around to find Aomine slowly walking towards him with clenched fists.

_ “You bastard…”  _ There are tears in his eyes, his posture hunched over. It is a familiar sight; he looked similar to this the day Kuroko had disappeared.  _ “You’re supposed to be his  _ light! _ How could you let this happen?!” _

Kagami feels his body being shoved away, then the sensation of free-falling…

 

***

 

And then he woke up in his bed, sweating, and decided to go for a run to clear his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, I just remembered something that will be useful information in later chapters:  
> In this story, we're just going to pretend that all of the seniors in the original series were actually second-years, and are therefore seniors in this story. For example, characters like Imayoshi and Kasamatsu graduated in the original show/manga, but in this story they will still be in high school.  
> Hope that makes sense. I know I'm messing with how time usually works, but I didn't want to create a bunch of OCs to fill in the teams after the seniors would have left, and for the sake of the plot I have in mind, it's handy to be able to keep folks like Mayuzumi around...


	3. Pang

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this story's gotten a lot of kudos lately... well, "a lot" being 4 total, with 3 being given after the last update. ...It feels like a lot to ME, anyway. XD  
> Thank you everyone for your support, hope my writing continues to please you!

“...P...paralyzed…?” Kagami was the first to speak. He began to sway where he stood and had a difficult time looking directly at the nurse. “What does… that mean?”

But of course he knew what it meant. Everyone did. As the nurse explained to them what it meant anyway, their minds wandered, and they slowly reached the dreadful realization:

Kuroko would never be able to play in official basketball games with them again, let alone walk.

“Anyway… I know that this is horrible news and a lot to take in, but if you don’t mind waiting a little longer to see your friend-”

“Huh? Wh-why?!  _ What else  _ is wrong with him??” Moimoi cried out as tears welled up in her eyes.

“Nothing, miss. We just need to…  _ interview _ him, so to speak,” a male voice behind the group replied.

An investigator had arrived to question Kuroko. Everyone willingly let him see their friend first, hoping the kidnapper/murderer could be one step closer to being brought to justice as a result.

The detective was gone for about a half hour. During that time, the teens sat back down and waited yet some more. They all sat in silence, still digesting what the nurse had told them.

About ten or so minutes in, Kise finally looked up from his folded hands and at everyone else. Kagami and Midorima had their heads in their hands, while Murasakibara held a stoic expression as he wrapped his arm around a silently weeping Moimoi. As for Akashi, who sat directly across from Kise…

“! U-um, Akashicchi…?”

Akashi was gripping his shaking knees tightly, so tightly that his fingertips were white, and something flickered in his left eye--

_ “Akashicchi?” _ Kise practically shouted, finally breaking the silence.

Everyone jumped and looked towards Akashi himself, who blinked and stopped shaking, appearing to be surprised as well. He looked at Kise, then his hands and knees, then Kise again with the same confused look. After a few seconds’ pause, his red eyes blinked again as his eyebrows rose. Then he relaxed and sat back in his chair, letting his hands naturally fold between his legs.

“Thank you, Kise-kun…”

Everyone else physically relaxed as well. They all settled into more normal seating positions and even let themselves lean back a little.

Once again, Kagami was the first to speak: “Heh… I forgot you were there for a moment, Akashi. I wondered what everyone was looking at.”

Kise chuckled. “Y’know, that sounds pretty familiar… Right?”

“One time…” Kagami started with a smirk, “we were riding on a bus, and Kuroko popped his head out above the seat in front of me, but I could only see his weird and blank eyes! He scared the  _ shit  _ outta me!”

Everyone laughed, letting all of their tensions escape into the hospital air.

“When Kurokocchi was first introduced to me as my mentor, it took me half a minute to see he was in front of me!”

“There was a practice game in middle school where I lost track of Kuro-chin and nearly ran him over,” Murasakibara added with a smile.

And so the remaining twenty minutes were spent sharing short, goofy stories of how invisible, annoying, and yet oddly likeable and friendly their beloved shadow was. Before they knew it, the investigator came back into the waiting room.

Moimoi was in the middle of telling everyone the story about Kuroko giving her the “winning” popsicle stick in middle school when Akashi rose his hand to cut her off.

“He’s back,” was all he needed to say as he looked beyond her and down the aisle of chairs.

They all looked towards the man walking towards them and immediately rose from their seats, blocking his path.

“Hm?” He at first appeared confused as he reached them. “Oh, right, you’ll want to know how your friend is doing…”

_ “Who did this to him?” _ Akashi asked in a low, threatening voice.

“U-uh, well…” The man adjusted his tie, clearly taken aback (everyone else was used to Akashi questioning people like this since Kuroko disappeared, so they didn’t say anything). “...I’m afraid that I can’t tell you.”

“What do you mean?? Uh, sir?” Kagami quickly asked.

“First off, as soon as I walked into his room and introduced myself, he asked me…” he looked out the window with a somber expression, “...if his parents had “survived”.”

Everyone inhaled sharply.

“You mean… he knew that his parents…”

“Were attacked, yes,” the man finished for Midorima. “Apparently he’s been worried about them all this time.

“I decided to tell him the truth, and… he didn’t take it very well. He kept blaming himself for his parents’ deaths, and no matter what else I said to him or tried to ask him, he got to a point where he was so hysterical, it was impossible to continue. And not to mention, the nurse kicked me out anyway,” he concluded with a roll of his eyes.

Akashi narrowed his. “As an investigator, shouldn’t you know better than to push a traumatized victim so hard? Have you ever actually been  _ successful  _ using such thoughtless methods?”

Before the visibly intimidated man could answer, the opening of the hospital doors was heard, and everyone turned to find Riko, Hyuga, and Kiyoshi walking into the waiting room, anxiously looking around.

As Kagami and the Miracles rushed towards them, the investigator took the opportunity to leave the building while everyone else was preoccupied with getting the three newcomers caught up.

 

***

 

Aomine calmly sits in his hospital bed, staring at the door and wondering when his mother will come to pick him up and take him home after his discharge. He’s scheduled to leave at three in the afternoon, and the clock already reads quarter after four.

But he doesn’t mind. His mother is probably just being held up at work again; she’ll be here any minute now…

Besides, now is the perfect time to catch up on some much-needed sleep--

_ Knock-knock. _

Aomine jumps and looks towards the right wall.

_ Knock-knock-knock! _

“Hah? What the hell, I’m tryin’ to sleep here…!” he grumbles as he turns and gets up from the bed.

_ BAM!  _ the wall bellows in reply.

“Gah! Geez, the hell’s your problem?!” Aomine marches over to the wall and punches it, leaving a slight dent and a small crack.

A thick line of blood oozes out of the crack.

Now there is silence, but Aomine feels a pang of guilt in his stomach.

“Um… Hello? Y-you OK?”

Faint, familiar sobs break out from behind the wall, and the floor vibrates.

 

***

 

Aomine finally awoke and bolted out of his hospital bed immediately, flipping on the light switch next to the bed and checking the wall.

There was nothing out of the ordinary; no cracks, dents, or blood, and the floor on which he stood felt perfectly still and stable... but he could _ hear _ someone crying. Someone he felt like he should recognize.

Whoever was crying started to calm down, however. The sobs decreased in volume and emotional intensity, and soon Aomine heard nothing at all.

But it was just as the sounds faded away that he finally recognized who they belonged to. After a little over three months of searching, he wasn’t sure if he would ever get to hear those sounds again. 

And yet he heard them. There was no mistaking it.

_ Tetsu-! _

He wildly rushed towards the door and threw it open.

  
  


***

 

The nurse had returned to the waiting room just as Riko, Hyuga, and Kiyoshi were finished being filled in on what transpired. The trio seemed to still be in shock over learning of Kuroko’s paralysis (along with everyone else, of course), but they were otherwise simply relieved that Kuroko was found  _ alive _ after all this time.

When the nurse approached them, everyone tightly gathered around her as she told them that Kuroko was now more emotionally stable. She would allow people to visit him, but only two at a time so as to not overwhelm him.

“In fact, he specifically requested ‘Kagami-kun’ and ‘Aomine-kun’...?” She looked quizzingly at the large group before her. “But I think there is already an ‘Aomine’-kun at this hospital, if I recall correctly…”

“Yes, he’s supposed to be discharged later today,” Akashi explained. “He can visit Kuroko-kun later when he’s awake or leaving.” He checked his watch. “It’s a little after four, so we’ll let him sleep for now and get him caught up on all of this later.”

“Oh, good,” the nurse sighed with a smile. “Now which one of you is Kagami-kun?”

“M-me…” Kagami stepped forward as he awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, suddenly feeling self-conscious from being singled out.

“Kagami-kun and one other person may see him at this time.”

Everyone immediately stepped forward to join Kagami.

“N-no, only  _ two at a time!”  _ cried the nurse.

No one budged as they all (excluding Kagami) glared at one another, not wanting to have to wait any longer to see Kuroko.

The nurse sighed again, this time without smiling. “Kagami-kun, I’ll lead you to Kuroko-kun’s room now.”

“O-oh, um, OK…” Kagami broke away from the group.

“Eh?!?” everyone shouted in dismay.

Before turning and walking away, the nurse bowed and said, “I’ll let you all figure out your pairs while Kagami-kun visits. I’m afraid of what will happen if Kuroko-kun is left alone for too long, so if you’ll excuse us…”

Kagami simply followed the woman, silently wondering and worrying about Kuroko, what he would say to him after all this time…

And with that, the nurse and Kagami left the remaining teens in a stunned and shamed silence.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, Kuroko WILL make his appearance in the next chapter, I promise! I'm aware that going three chapters with the absence of the main character is pretty cruel, but in case you couldn't tell by now, this IS a slowly-paced story...   
> Anyway, the next chapter should be out by the end of this upcoming weekend, and I plan to update again by the end of the first weekend in September. I don't know exactly how busy I'll be next month, but I should have a better idea after the week of August 27, so I'll be sure to let you all know what I think the updating schedule in September will be at the end of chapter 5!


	4. Wrung

_“Argh,_ honestly, that Aomine is nothing but a _trouble-maker!”_ a different female nurse complained as she approached Kagami and Kuroko’s nurse in the hallway.

Kuroko’s nurse giggled. “What did he do _this time?”_

Kagami blinked from surprise. _Aomine? Is he awake?_

“He tried to leave his room at night again!” the second nurse exclaimed as she put her hands on her hips. “He was going on about some ‘Tetsu’ friend he _‘needed’_ to see.”

“Huh?! How does _he_ know that Kuroko’s here??” Kagami shouted without thinking. “...U-um, Kuroko’s his last name…”

“Oh.” The second nurse shrugged. “Well, beats me. But they _do_ happen to be in neighboring rooms, so maybe he heard Kuroko crying earlier. _I_ sure as hell did.”

“Misaki-san…” Kuroko’s nurse interupted the other’s tangent, “is it really so much to ask to let Aomine-kun pay his friend a visit? I heard he’s been missing for a while.”

“Does it look like I care? ‘Cuz I _don’t,”_ Misaki retorted. “That idiot can see his friend when he’s discharged later today. He made a deal with a doctor that if he stays in his room for a few days straight, he’ll get an earlier discharge. And he just committed his second strike. The longer he stays in this hospital, the harder it’ll be for him to visit whoever he damn well pleases! If he wants to see his friend, he’ll have to abide by our rules here.

_“No exceptions!”_ she snapped with a finger pointed at Kagami, who opened his mouth to try and speak in Aomine’s defense, before turning on her heel and marching away.

“...Sorry about that, Kagami-kun. Misaki-san has a long night shift and tends to get, um... _disgruntled_ towards the end.”

“Tch, no kidding,” Kagami growled with clenched fists. _“What a b-”_

“Unfortunately, it does sound like Aomine-kun will have to wait until this afternoon to leave his room, and Kuroko-kun is certainly in no position to leave _his_ any time soon…

“But don’t worry,” she reassured Kagami with a bright smile. “While you’re visiting Kuroko-kun, I’ll go see Aomine-kun and let him know how your friend is doing. I’ll be right next door, so you can just give a shout if you need me.”

Kagami suddenly found himself alone as Aomine’s door slid open and shut. He just stared at Kuroko’s door, his mind racing.

_‘...maybe he heard Kuroko crying earlier.’_

_That was probably when the investigator told him about his parents…_

He reclenched his fists. _Why are there so many assholes making Kuroko’s life even more miserable!? That nurse won’t even let ‘im see his one of his best friends!_

He felt an urge to kick the door in frustration, but quickly stopped himself, or else _he_ would have been making things worse.

He relaxed his hands and took a deep breath.

_That’s right. What Kuroko needs now more than anything…_

His shaky hand slowly slid the door open.

_...is to see a friend._

And suddenly, there he is, sitting in a hospital bed in a small white room, facing Kagami.

The redhead had seen him (and even held and carried him) earlier on and off of the basketball court. His blue hair was surprisingly well-kept, but he otherwise looked to have seen much better days. Kagami had seen how much paler Kuroko’s skin looked, as though he hadn’t seen the sun since April; and how he was so skinny, his cheeks were hollow and their bones themselves stuck out. Also on the court, he had been wearing long pants and a long-sleeved shirt--both of them white--but Kagami could tell immediately that all of the muscle he had built up as a basketball player was gone. It only took three months for all of his physical efforts put towards making his body stronger to be reduced to skin and bones.

What scared Kagami the most a few hours earlier was that his friend’s eyes had been closed. They remained that way, no matter how hard Kagami shook him, all the way to the hospital.

But now Kagami’s eyes met with Kuroko’s finally open ones. They looked tired and sunken, with some red signs of irritation at the edges. However, after just a few seconds of staring, they blinked and widened, then blinked again and lit up slightly.

As Kagami cautiously slid the door shut behind him without looking away, Kuroko finally spoke in a soft, croaky voice that was barely audile over the sound of said door:

_“...Kagami… kun...?”_

Blue eyes blinked and widened once more.

_“Kagami-kun…”_

He straightened up in the bed and started to lift a shaky, boney hand as Kagami began stepping towards him, feeling numb and unsure of what else to do or say.

Thankfully, Kuroko made that easy. His stiff and pale face broke out into a wide, albeit slightly pained, smile. He squeezed his eyes shut, but even that couldn’t stop the long beads of tears that fell down his cheeks.

Kagami was thankful Kuroko couldn’t see that he was crying too. But as his vision blurred, he could still make out Kuroko’s raised small fist.

_“Hi… Kagami-kun.”_

Kagami raised his own hand and completed Kuroko’s silently requested fistbump.

“Y… yeah…” he managed to choke out.

_Welcome back, Kuroko._

 

_***_

 

For the first fifteen or so minutes that Kagami was visiting Kuroko, everyone else in the waiting room busied themselves with deciding on pairs, each of them determined to see Kuroko as soon as possible. They had finished pairing up the reluctant two remaining people, Kise and Midorima, when a deep female voice behind them asked, _“Excuse me? Satsuki-chan? Daiki just called me…”_

They all whipped around, startled, and saw a short yet slightly muscular tank top-clad woman with tan skin. Her black hair was pulled back in a tight bun, and she clearly didn’t have bangs, allowing everyone to easily see her indigo, narrow eyes.

But despite their slanted look, her eyes were kind and concerned. They looked directly at Moimoi as she smiled and said, “How are you holding up? Is it true that Kuroko-kun is alright too?”

Moimoi gasped. _“Tomoko-chan!”_ She rushed over to the woman and gave her a tight hug, who excitedly squeezed back in kind, unfazed by Moimoi’s… _curves_ tightly pressed against her.

“Huh? What’s going on?” Hyuga wondered aloud.

“Excuse me, Moimoi?” Akashi began. “I don’t think--”

_“Oh, sorry!”_ Moimoi broke away from the woman’s embrace and extended her arm out towards her. “Most of you probably don’t know her. _This is Dai-chan’s mom!”_

“Eh?!” everyone exclaimed.

Kise gasped and ran up to the still smiling woman. _“Wow!_ You’re Aominecchi’s _mother?!”_

She laughed heartily, throwing her head back. “Yes, that’s me! It’s nice to finally meet the rest of his friends!”

Hyuga snorted. _“Not sure if you’d call us his ‘friends’, but--”_

“Please, just call me Tomoko,” she interrupted with a bow, her small lips still in the shape of a grin.

 

_***_

 

_Shit, what should I say?_ Kagami silently wondered.

He had pulled a chair from against the wall and was now sitting on it next to Kuroko’s bed as the two of them caught up… sort of.

Well, Kuroko had asked Kagami how everyone was doing, and Kagami pretended that they had all been “fine” since he had gone missing. Then Kuroko looked around the room and asked where Aomine was.

Kagami forced a smile and said, “What, you’re not happy to see _me?”_

Kuroko was clearly feeling better from before, as he gave Kagami a deadpanned look and flatly stated, “Of course I am, but I requested to see both you and Aomine-kun.”

_...Y’know what? Aomine’s_ physically _OK, so it wouldn’t hurt to tell him the truth… right?_

Kuroko’s expression went from blank to worried as the pause between them drew out longer. Only the sound of the heart monitor was heard, and the frequency of beeps rose with each passing second. “Is he... _alright?_ Did something happen?”

Kagami sighed and leaned forward in his seat, letting his elbow rest on his thigh and his chin in his hand. “Yeah… Actually, he’s a patient here at this hospital too.”

_“What?”_ The beeping from the machine sped up more noticeably as he wrung his hands and looked away from Kagami, his eyes wide. “But _he_ said he wouldn’t hurt anyone else…”

_“Huh?_ Wait, Kuroko--he’s _fine!_ He just got the flu a couple weeks ago!”

Kuroko looked back at Kagami. “...R-really? He’s only sick?”

“Yeah, that’s it. He’s gonna be discharged today, so he’ll visit you this afternoon, okay? _Relax,”_ Kagami added.

The beeping slowed down and Kuroko let himself physically relax, smiling yet still frowning.

_“Oh, so it wasn’t him… I didn’t need to worry…”_

“Who?”

Kuroko blinked and stopped smiling. He gave Kagami a wide-eyed stare and simply said, “Nothing.”

Kagami sighed again and leaned back in his chair. _Dammit, guess now’s not a good time to ask about that stuff._

_“...Wait._ Two _weeks_ ago?”

_Crap…_

Kuroko started wringing his hands again. “You lied to me. Everyone is _not_ ‘okay’, correct?” He pushed away the top of his blanket and pressed his hands into the mattress, preparing to stand up out of bed.

This display of stubbornness made Kagami smile. His friend had clearly been through something horrible, but whatever his parents’ murderer did to Kuroko couldn’t take away his fighting spirit.

_“Tell me--”_ He paused, looking confused. His gaze fell onto the portion of the blanket under which his legs lay.

Kagami held his breath and felt his chest tighten. It was painful to watch, seeing Kuroko trying to walk as though nothing happened while knowing it was futile. _Does he know that he’s…?_

Kuroko quickly looked away so that Kagami couldn’t see his face as he slowly pulled his blanket back over his stomach. He faced the window to his right, which was covered by blinds.

He said nothing, but he clenched the blanket tightly with shaking hands.

“Kuroko…” _Geez, what the hell am I supposed to say?_

“Kagami-kun,” Kuroko softly said in an unsteady voice. “Is everyone else… really here to see me?”

“...Yeah. Of course.”

“...How do I know you’re not lying about that as well?”

“Then I’ll prove it to you,” Kagami grunted as he stood up from the chair, “by giving the rest of them a chance to visit.” He couldn’t bring himself to look back towards the bed as he quickly left the room.

No matter how stubborn Kuroko was, he would not able to follow him.

 

The door slid open and shut, and Kuroko was alone once again. He first looked at the lower half of his blanket, where his legs supposedly were. But he felt nothing.

_I know this was part of the deal, but… Not being able to even stand up is…!_

He hastily wiped his eyes, then turned his gaze to the wall on his left.

_It makes sense that Aomine-kun is here. I thought I_ felt _something earlier… Like someone_ hit  _the wall._

He sighed and leaned back against the pillows holding him upright and closed his eyes.

_That’s a good sign. He’s finally receiving my signals._

_And the sooner he understands them… the sooner I’ll be free._


	5. Pumped

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this is embarrassing... I sincerely apologize for the three-week delay in updating this. September has turned out to be a MUCH busier month than I could have predicted, and the next couple of months will be similar. So no more making promises I'm not 100% certain I'll be able to keep.  
> October/November Update Schedule:  
> Definitely at least once a month, but sadly, probably no more than that. December and January should be better, though, but we'll cross that bridge once we get to it.  
> Thank you all for your patience and continued support!

After the newcomer, Tomoko, had finished explaining to everyone how her son had called her to inform her of Kuroko’s return, she quickly left the room to visit Daiki himself.

“Poor Dai-chan…” Moimoi sighed. “He’ll have to wait for a half of a _day_ before seeing Tetsu-kun.”

 _“Serves ‘im right,”_ Hyuga grumbled with a roll of his eyes.

Moimoi, clearly having heard his remark, retorted, “Hyuga-kun, you’ve been so rude to him lately! A _psychiatrist_ came in and saw him to make sure he didn’t try to-!”

“Oh please. Someone like _him_ wouldn’t do that. He’s _fine,_ quit overreacting.”

Moimoi looked as though she was about to scream when Kiyoshi stepped between the arguing duo. “C’mon, _both of you._ We’re in a hospital. Go step outside to shout at each other, OK? There’s a nice awning at the entrance-”

“Idiot,” Riko snapped. “Arguing _right outside_ of a hospital would be rude, too. They’d block and bother people trying to get in and out!”

Kiyoshi gasped. “Oh, really? I didn’t even think of that!” He spread out his arms, as though pushing Hyuga and Moimoi away from each other without actually touching them. “Nevermind then. Both of you stay in here and just don’t talk to each other instead.”

 _He’s so stupid,_ the rest of the teens silently thought.

Akashi sighed and turned away from the group. _Moimoi-san’s right. We should be more worried about Aomine-kun, even though he’ll soon be out of the hospital. Even if overdosing was a_ subconscious _decision on his part, I still think he’s been taking Kuroko-kun’s disappearance even harder than Kagami-kun and I._ He lifted a hand to his chin, lost in thought. _His stress and self-blame could be the root of the problem here, rather than carelessness as Hyuga suspects…_

 _“Kagamicchi!”_ Kise’s cry snapped Akashi out of his thoughts, and he turned to see Kagami himself walking towards the group.

 _“How is he?”_ a few people immediately asked in unison.

“He’s… fine,” was all he said in reply. He looked dazed as he tried to walk around everyone, but Kise stepped forward and blocked him.

“What does “fine” mean??”

“Argh, he’s just _lonely,_ OK?? Just start visiting him already!” he shouted, then stomped away towards the door, this time without being hindered by the now silent group.

“...Well then,” Kuroko’s nurse said as she suddenly appeared before them, “who will visit Kuroko-kun next?”

Huga and Akashi promptly stepped forward.

“We will,” Hyuga proudly stated.

It had been decided that the captains of Kuroko’s former teams would make up the first pair.

 

_***_

 

Upon seeing Kuroko, weak and bedridden, Hyuga could no longer act stoic and burst into sobs after entering the hospital room; and Kuroko could see that Akashi was fighting back tears as well.

 _“Kuroko, you bastard…!”_ he practically wailed as he uncharacteristically ruffled his lost teammate’s hair, while Kuroko himself silently smiled and let tears freely stream down his cheeks. _“Where the hell’ve you been?!”_

_“I’m s-sorry, C… Captain…”_

Akashi simply stood back and watched the two for a while.

When Hyuga had finished purging himself, he lifted his hand from poor Kuroko’s now-sore head (which was never really so much “ruffled” as it was simply _grabbed)_ and said, this time with a stronger voice, “Alright, I’m just gonna say it. You obviously don’t wanna talk about what happened, but you’re gonna have to sooner or later. Once you’re ready, talk to us or the investigator and bring your parents’ killer to justice!”

Kuroko softly but sharply gasped, his eyes wide. He gripped his blanket tightly and quickly looked away, towards the still-covered windows.

“Hyuga,” Akashi softly but firmly said.

“Tch, whatever, you know what I mean!” Hyuga retorted as he sulked out of the room. “But I’m just saying, sooner or later we’ll need to know.”

The door slid shut, leaving Akashi and Kuroko alone (the nurse was needed for an emergency elsewhere in the hospital).

“Kuroko…” Akashi, no longer resisting the urge to cry and visibly calmer, took a few steps forward and sat on the bed to Kuroko’s right, facing him. “He’s right in the sense that you _will_ have to reveal to authorities what happened, but now isn’t a good time for that, obviously. Just take it a day at a time…”

Kuroko sighed heavily and loosened his grip on his poor, wrinkled blanket. “I know… thank you.

“Anyway…” he shifted his gaze to Akashi and smiled, “how have you been doing, Akashi-kun? Oh, and Hyuga-kun as well, I didn’t get the chance to ask him.”

Akashi forced a smile. “Actually, we’ve been having one hell of a time. We were starting to think… that you were…” He trailed off, no longer smiling.

“But I’m not dead, I’m here,” Kuroko quickly stated matter-of-factly. “You’re here with me, we’re all here together now. That’s something to celebrate, right?” He looked solemnly at where his legs were covered. “I’m not sure… _I have no idea_ what’s going to happen to me from now on, but as soon as I’m able…” he looked back up at Akashi, “...I want to hang out with everyone again, as though nothing--”

Something warm touched his hand. But despite that warmth, Kuroko suddenly felt cold and stiff.

“Akashi-kun, what’re you--?” But of course he knew why his hand was being held, he had just hoped he would never have to address it again…

 _“Sigh,_ Akashi-kun…”

But his grip only tightened.

Something in the air changed, although Kuroko couldn’t tell quite what it was.

He slowly looked back up towards his visitor, and a shiver ran down his spine as he saw a flicker of gold in one of Akashi’s eyes.

“...L-let go…”

_“No.”_

With his left eye fully turned, Akashi straightened his posture, now towering over Kuroko, and widened his eyes. _“Why is it you still reject me?”_

Kuroko swallowed hard. “I… I’m sorry, b-but we’ve been over this back in February… My--my feelings towards you haven’t changed.”

_“But neither have mine.”_

“I’m sorry, but you visiting me and trying to comfort me like this isn’t going to change my mind.”

 _“Why not?”_ Akashi persisted as he leaned forward towards a trembling Kuroko. _“What do I need to do? Since you can’t_  walk _anymore, allow me to--"_

Kuroko roughly grabbed Akashi’s hand with his free one, trying to pry it off, but to no avail. In fact, after a few seconds of struggling, Akashi’s other hand trapped Kuroko’s second underneath it.

Kuroko was freezing, but he could no longer retreat to the safety of underneath his blanket. Afraid to look up, he whispered, “Leave.”

_“Not until I’m finished here.”_

He had been looking down at their hands, but Kuroko finally looked back up and into Akashi’s red/golden eyes, which were now barely a few inches away from his own. They were narrow, but the pupils were wide and hungry. He was reminded of something he thought had been forever sealed in the past, but clearly that _thing_ had resurfaced and come back to haunt him.

_I thought I saved him…_

_“Akashi-kun, wake up! This isn’t_ **_you!”_ ** He blurted out with his eyes squeezed shut.

First there was a silent pause, then Kuroko could feel Akashi’s hands slip away. He slowly opened his eyes as he felt the mattress move slightly.

Akashi was now standing next to the bed and smiling gently at Kuroko, both of his eyes red again.

“I agree. Once you’re discharged, we should all get together again… It’ll be like your birthday party.”

 _What…?_ Kuroko looked around, expecting the “old” Akashi to be somewhere else in the room.

“...Is something wrong? Kuroko-kun?”

“...N...no… I’m sorry… It’s just, um…” Kuroko stuttered, trying to wrap his mind around the odd circumstances. He finally looked back at a clearly confused Akashi. “I know that I’m supposed to be safe now, but…”

Akashi’s expression softened. “So that’s it. Well, that’s understandable--it’ll take some time to adjust. But like I said before, just take it a day at a time…”

“Right…” Kuroko looked towards the window absentmindedly.

After a moment of awkward silence, Akashi finally bagen to ask if Kuroko wanted the blinds pulled up--

 **BAM!** _“Kuro-chin!”_ a familiar voice wailed after the door banged open.

And suddenly, Murasakibara was on top of Kuroko.

 _“Kuro-chin~!”_ the giant sobbed. _“We missed you so much~~!”_

Although Kuroko could barely breathe inside of Murasakibara’s bearhug, he was grateful for the embrace. In fact, he hugged his friend back without any hesitation.

_Thank you, Murasakibara-kun. Please stay here for a while… Protect me… from whoever it was I just met…_

 

_***_

 

After Murasakibara finished crying and gave Kuroko a packet of small sugar cookies (which he commanded that he hide from the nurses “at all costs”), his nurse finally returned and had the giant and redhead leave so more people could visit.

Kuroko had to admit that he was relieved by this; he _was_ starting to feel tired, especially after his encounter with the old Akashi.

This time the nurse stayed with Kuroko, so he strained to appear as calm as possible. But inside, his mind was racing.

_What just happened to Akashi-kun? Is the new one no longer aware of the old one? And does the opposite hold way? Honestly, now I’m starting to worry more about him than Aomine-kun…_

_Oh, speaking of whom…_

“Um, excuse me…” Kuroko spoke up as the nurse fussed with his IV.

“Yes, Kuroko-kun?”

“Could you please tell me why Aomine-kun is in this hospital? What exactly happened to him?”

The nurse’s hand fell away from the IV as she solemnly turned to face Kuroko.

“Well, I don’t believe I’m allowed to tell you, but since you’re his friend I’m _willing_ to, so you must promise me not to tell anyone you heard this from _me,_ understand?”

Kuroko nodded.

“Alright. It seems that he got the flu a couple of weeks ago, but he only recently came here because he accidentally overdosed on some pain medicine.”

“D-did he really have the flu for that long?”

“No, but it seems there was some leftover medicine with _acetaminophen_ in it after he recovered. Do you know what that is?”

“Yes, it’s a strong painkiller that’s always highlighted on medicine ingredient labels because even just a small overdosage can be dangerous… right?”

“Correct. Apparently he woke up with a bad headache in the middle of the night a few days ago and stumbled into the bathroom, where that medicine was kept. He took so much... that he had to get his _stomach pumped.”_

“! Wh-what?! Is he _okay??”_

“Yes, relax, Kuroko-kun, he’s fine now. Remember, he’s going to be discharged _today.”_

“Yes, I know, I just… I had no idea…” Kuroko began to feel light-headed and his breathing quickened.

 _Everyone seems so worried about_ me, _but clearly a lot has happened over the past few months…!_

“Kuroko-kun? ... _Kuroko-kun! Stay with me!”_

He let himself drift off into the comforting darkness of sleep… Or just plain unconsciousness. Whatever it was, Kuroko was thankful for it and let it wash over him and his exhausted mind.


	6. Trapped

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY HALLOWEEEEEeeeeen.....! ...Although there isn't anything particularly spooky in this chapter. Sorry about that.  
> This chapter finishes up the "reunion arc", where I wanted to show a bit of how most of the important characters dealt with Kuroko's absence from their lives, as well as provide some key info about what happened in those three months prior (plus a brief but important event from Teiko that you'll learn about).   
> In fact, one of the main themes I hope to achieve with this story is the humanization of the GoM, who were always put on a pedestal in the main anime series. But they're humans just like us too. How do they deal with compromising situations and loss? I want to explore everyone's vulnerable side.  
> Well anyway, enough of this writer's philosophical jargon. Let's just dive right into the chapter, shall we?

“Sorry for calling you out here, Dad,” Kagami mumbled as he fidgeted with his breakfast sandwich, not feeling very hungry for a change. “I didn’t think Kuroko would  _ pass out…” _

The large middle-aged man sitting across from him at a Maji’s booth checked his watch as he replied, “No need to apologize, Taiga. It’s not like you could’ve known. What worries me is that he’s been out for a few  _ hours _ now…” He looked up from his watch, then down towards his son’s bowed head and pointed at his sandwich. “Now,  _ eat.  _ A lot’s happened today and it’s not even nine; you need the energy!”

Kagami sighed and set down his now barely lukewarm sandwich. “It’s  _ because  _ a lot’s happened that I’m not hungry. You can have it if you want,” he offered while turning his gaze towards the window with a dull and glazed expression, not looking at anything in particular.

“...Taiga… I’m not upset about you leaving the apartment at night.”

“Huh? Oh, um, that’s good…” Kagami shrugged, obviously not feeling any guilt over it.

_ “...I _ should apologize.”

Kagami blinked in surprise and sat upright, looking at his suddenly somber father.

“I’ve been so busy with work lately, I should’ve made the effort to stay home more and make sure you were doing OK, with everything that’s been going on.” His red and sorrowful eyes narrowed. “I truly am sorry, Taiga.”

“Huh? N-no, I’m fine…!”

“No, you’re obviously  _ not.  _ Why else would you be sneaking out of the apartment in the middle of the night?? You obviously feel trapped there.”

Kagami started to say something, but then closed his mouth.

It was true. Ever since Kuroko had gone missing, he  _ did  _ start to feel trapped in his own home, especially after a month of searching for his friend. He and everyone else began to despair that perhaps they would never see Kuroko again… and Kagami was genuinely worried about the possibility of a  _ body  _ being found.

But after basketball practice each day, he hated just sitting around the house, even after the more fervent search efforts had subsided. He often took long walks and went to that same outdoor court to shoot hoops for hours, usually not getting dinner until well after nine or ten at night. And when he grabbed some food from Maji’s on his way home, having lost the motivation to cook, he didn’t order nearly the same amount as he used to. He, as well as several other members of the Seirin basketball team, had lost some weight, something that Riko recurrently scolded them for (although  _ she _ was starting to look a bit thin too).

“I should have at least gotten away from work to have dinner with you. I just feel like… I’ve missed a lot in your life.”

Kagami was truly taken aback. His father was the type of person that would have plenty of heart-to-hearts over the years, but it was the first time he looked as though he might start crying.

As he watched his father’s eyes get shinier, Kagami knew he had to say  _ something-- _

Thankfully, he didn’t need to. His vibrating cellphone broke the silence for him.

It was a text from Hyuga, and what it said put a huge grin on Kagami’s face.

_ “Kuroko’s awake and OK!  _ The coach and Kiyoshi are visiting him right now…!”

 

_ *** _

 

After being hugged tightly by Kiyoshi and yelled at by a tearful Riko for being gone for so long, the two of them grabbed a couple stools and sat near Kuroko’s bed to talk some more.

“So how is everyone doing at Seirin?” Kuroko asked as he wiped the last few tears away from his cheeks. He felt much more at ease after having “rested” for a while, ready for a few more emotional reunions.

“Huh? Oh, um, fine, I guess…” Kiyoshi vaguely replied.

“Honestly…” Riko sighed heavily with her arms crossed and a small smile on her lips, “...aren’t  _ we  _ supposed to be asking if  _ you’re  _ alright??”

“Oh yeah, that’s right!” Kiyoshi cried, suddenly reaching a realization.  _ “Kuroko, how are you feeling?!” _

“Idiot!” Riko kicked him.

_ “Ouch!  _ Riko, why?? I’m sorry I just remembered to ask him that, but I didn’t think he’d want to talk much…”

A weird feeling started to rise in Kuroko’s chest. It wasn’t fear, but rather…

A large smile spread across his lips and he opened his mouth.

_...laughter. _

That odd feeling he had was released through his laughing. His eyes were closed tightly and his stomach started to hurt.

He hadn’t laughed in such a long time, it actually caused some pain.

But he kept laughing, laughing so hard that he had trouble breathing, and he hugged himself in a futile unconscious effort to control his breath.

_ It’s not even that funny. What’s wrong with me? _

He felt something warm on wet on his cheeks yet again, and he thought he could also hear Riko and Kiyoshi laughing…

 

_ “But in all seriousness, how is everyone doing?” _

_ “Fine,” _  was all they said before leaving.

 

_ *** _

 

The next pair to come in was Midorima and Kise. Kise’s reaction to seeing Kuroko was more or less the same as Murasakibara’s (minus the cookies, at least a few kilograms, and the hovering threat of heterochromatic Akashi of course). As for Midorima, he visibly held back tears as he tried to play it cool as usual while presenting the conveniently light-blue teddy bear to Kuroko.

Kuroko hugged it tightly into his gut without thinking, having not had much contact comfort over the past few months. When Midorima regained some poise and Kise calmed down, he tried asking once again how everyone had been doing and finally got some real answers from Kise.

“We…  _ *sniffle*...  _ we looked for you  _ every day,  _ Kurokocchi…  _ We were so shocked to hear what happened…”  _ Sitting in a stool on Kuroko’s left, he looked down at the roughly folded hands in his lap. “Some of us started to th-think that… you know…” Like Akashi, his voice trailed off.

Midorima, sitting in a stool on Kuroko’s right, sat there quietly with… an odd expression. He looked directly at Kuroko.

_ What is he thinking…? I’ve never seen Midorima-kun with such a depressed look on his face before. _

“Of course, w-we never gave up!” Kise chimed back in with a genuine smile. “As much as we were afraid… somehow we knew we’d be able to find you again, one way or another.” More tears flowed from his eyes as he put on his old and ugly cry-face, but he was still smiling. “And here you are!”

Midorima spoke, softly, for the first time:  _ “Indeed. It appears that our prayers have been answered.”  _ Then he abruptly stood up and left the room without ever looking back at Kise or Kuroko.

_ “Huh? M-Midorimacchi??”  _ Kise called out as the door slid shut. He then sighed and faced a bewildered Kuroko again. “Sorry about that. He’s gotten quieter lately…”

“But you don’t seem to have changed very much, Kise-kun,” Kuroko remarked with a small smile. “I’m relieved to see that.”

“Oh! Um, well, that’s…” Kise awkwardly scratched the back of his neck and looked away. “Well, maybe. I guess we all just have our own way of dealing with this… With everything’s that happened. So, um…” He looked at Kuroko again with a piercing gaze. “How’s  _ Kuroko Tetsuya  _ dealing with all that’s happened?”

“Eh? Oh…”  _ I forgot how serious Kise-kun can get at times. I’m so lucky to have a friend like him. _

He had his answer. He looked Kise right in the eyes and replied:  _ “It’s you.” _

“...Uhm…?” Kise cocked his head.

“I was kept in a  dark place with no windows or clocks, so I don’t know how often it was, but… I thought about you and everyone else.

_ “That’s the real reason I’m still here.” _

Kise’s eyes widened and, after a pause, he burst into obnoxious sobs and gave Kuroko another suffocating hug.

 

_ *** _

 

Finally, Moimoi came in to see Kuroko. After drowning in her big-chested hug and listening to her wail (as well as crying a bit with her), he became aware of someone else in the room.

“Um… Excuse me, I d-don’t think we’ve met…”

_ Wait. Have we? She does remind me of someone… Why is she tearing up as well? Does she really know me? _

A woman with tan skin, narrow eyes and long, black hair stepped forward from the wall, as though she had been waiting for Moimoi to settle down before interrupting.

“We  _ did  _ meet, once. During summer break in your second year at Teiko.”

“Eh?” Kuroko stared deep into the woman’s dark blue eyes.

Something clicked.

_ “*gasp!*  _ It was… Aomine-kun’s birthday…

_ “Tomoko-san?!” _

Tomoko smiled sweetly and nodded. “It’s been a while, Kuroko-kun.” 

She abruptly bowed. “I’m so sorry for not seeing you since then. I could have made the effort to visit outside of Seirin’s locker room after games, but…” she rose slightly from her bow, looking away and no longer smiling, “...it seems that after Daiki lost interest in basketball, I did too. I only saw the Winter Cup games he was in, and then the final one between you and Rakuzan, but--”

“T-Tomoko-san, it’s okay… There’s really no need to apologize. I want to start fresh today.”

Tomoko fully straightened her posture in surprise and smiled again. “Thank you, Kuroko-kun.”

“Tetsu-kun’s right, Tomoko-chan,” Moimoi piped in through a tearful smile. “Today’s a new beginning!”

“Anyway, I remember you now. You made us cake for Aomine-kun’s birthday in the evening, correct? Although it’s strange, that’s all I remember from that day… I hope I actually gave him a present…” Kuroko looked towards the still-covered window, lost in thought. His eyelids were starting to feel heavy.

“Of course you did!” Tomoko cried. “He asked you to practice playing basketball with him. I think this was right before he started skipping practices more frequently…

“Anyhow, the reason you don’t remember it is because he wore you out! You two were out for  _ hours,  _ and it was such a hot and humid day… He felt horrible; he thought you had gotten a heat stroke!”

“What?! I didn’t know about this!” Moimoi shouted.

“Oh, I never told you? Well, after Daiki called me, saying that you were sick and needed to go to the hospital, I came and drove you and him there. Thankfully, you seemed to recover on the way since Daiki kept insisting that you rehydrate, and not to mention the AC was on full blast… The doctor said there was nothing to worry about, that we handled the situation fine by cooling you off right away, and you napped on the way back to my house.” 

She suddenly giggled and smiled mischievously. “I was going to scold him in the car, but couldn’t bring myself to do it because he did something cute… He kept watching you to make sure you still breathing! He clearly felt awful about what happened…”

Kuroko blinked. “He…  _ watched  _ me while I was  _ sleeping?” _

“That’s what he told me after you left later that evening. He was so honest! It’s cute seeing young friends like you care for each other, so I didn’t give him  _ too  _ big of an earful.” She chuckled.

“Heehee! Wow, that’s a great story, Tomoko-chan! I can’t believe you never told me.”

“Sorry, Satsuki-chan. Guess it slipped my mind.”

Kuroko realized he was smiling too, also amused by the story.

“I’ve always found it to be so nice. Your friendship I mean. And when you think about it…” Tomoko smirked. “Basketball brought you two together, tore you apart, and then brought you back together again!”

“Y-yes… By the way, Tomoko-san… is Aomine-kun doing alright?” His features sank a bit. “I… heard about what happened.”

Moimoi gasped.  _ “Wh-what?? But no one was supposed to--” _

“It’s alright, Satsuki,” Tomoko cut her off. “They’re old friends, so he deserves to know. Besides, he would probably have learned about it sooner or later anyway.” She looked solemnly at Kuroko. “Yes, we’ve been through a lot, but he’s feeling much better now. He’ll visit you in a few hours, right after they officially discharge him. So just be patient for now, got it?”

“Mm.” Kuroko nodded.

Tomoko tilted her head. “In fact, you look tired. We’re the last people from the waiting room to visit you, so why don’t you take a nap? The day’s not even halfway over, you’ll need your energy.”

“Um, actually…” Moimoi timidly spoke up, “...I saw Kagami-kun’s dad come in. So I don’t think you’ll get to sleep just yet. Sorry, Tetsu-kun. But he seemed really excited to meet you!”

Kuroko suddenly felt more awake. 

_ Kagami-kun’s  _ father?  _ That’s right, he must be back from America. Kagami-kun hasn’t spoken about him much… I wonder what he’s like? _

 

_ *** _

 

Those who had visited Kuroko had already left the hospital, and the other members of the Seirin basketball team had yet to show up as well, so it was just Kagami and his father who waited to see Kuroko.

...Actually, it was just Kagami now, because his father needed to use the bathroom. He sat in the same area as before, by the windows, and looked around the now slightly fuller and livelier waiting room, not sure of what else to do.

That’s when he saw him. He passed by Kagami and sat himself a few chairs down without noticing him, but the redhead could recognize the black hair, the pale skin, the wide and slanted eyes, the weird eyebrows that were thicker inwards (yes, they were even weirder than Kagami’s)...

_ “Hanamiya?!” _

The sadist looked up from his phone and looked mostly unfazed to see Kagami.

“...What?” he asked with an annoyed and bemused expression. “What’s so weird about wanting to visit someone that’s been missing for three months?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Things will start to pick up the pace a bit next time, and yes, Aomine and Kuroko will FINALLY reunite! So look forward to that.  
> Speaking of you (hopefully) enjoying the chapter, I was chatting with GhostInTheDeadWitchCity in the comments for the previous chapter, and I was talking about how no one's really commented yet... I'm not saying I need lots of positive words for self-validation or anything, I just really want some verbal feedback; anything from praise to constructive criticism is welcomed, so please don't feel shy about it!  
> Anyway, see y'all in the next update!


	7. Blinded

_ So… this is Kagami-kun’s father? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but... _

Kuroko blinked and looked up once again at the large man who sat in a stool next to his bed, seemingly towering over him.

_ If this is where  _ Kagami-kun  _ gets his height from, does that mean Murasakibara-kun’s father is even  _ taller??

He appeared to be in his forties, with a few small wrinkles around his eyes and “smile lines” outlining his cheeks. The man’s eyes were slanted and red like Kagami’s, but his hair was a normal dark brown; and unlike the fierce and aggressive look Taiga had a tendency of giving people, this man’s eyes had a fierce  _ jubilance  _ in them. It was almost as if he was trying to help Kuroko from the bottom of his heart just by looking into his eyes.

Kuroko looked away, finding such a large amount of kind energy to be overwhelming.

_ Although I suppose they’re not  _ that  _ much different from either Kagami-kun’s or Aomine-kun’s eyes…  _

“It’s… nice to meet you, Kagami-san…”

“Hmm? Why so formal? You can just call me Toya!” the man boomed with a welcoming grin.

Kagami (Taiga) seemed embarrassed. He scratched the back of his head and muttered with a frown,  _ “Guess the coffee’s kicking in, huh?” _

“W-wait… your  _ first _ name?” Kuroko stuttered. “But that’s--”

“Not a problem with me!” Toya interrupted, his eyes shining. “You can address my  _ son _ by his last name as much as you want, but  _ I strongly  _ prefer that people are more casual around me.”

“Just do as he says,” Kagami interjected. “Otherwise, he’ll correct you every time you talk to him and conversations will last for about an hour, at  _ least.”  _ He rolled his eyes.  _ “He’s so freaking bossy…” _

“Taiga…” Toya’s smile vanished as he looked towards his son, who simply had his eyes closed, as though he were being patient for once and waiting for his nuisance of a father to simply go away or stop talking. Toya then looked back at Kuroko with small, forced smile. “Um, anyway, Kuroko-kun, it’s nice to meet you as well!”

Kuroko smiled, although a bit perturbed by the awkward family dynamic he was watching unfold. But seeing Kagami with his eyes shut reminded him of his own drowsiness. His eyes felt heavy again as he politely cuffed a hand over his mouth and let out a small yawn.

“Guess we should leave,” Kagami stated flatly. Without even looking at Kuroko, he stood up and turned to do so.

“Kagami-kun-?”

The door slid open, and Kagami slid out immediately after.

Even the nurse, who had been standing in the corner of the room, looked surprised as Kuroko and Toya stared at the door in silence.

“...Did something happen?” Kuroko finally asked.

Toya sighed heavily as he stood up. “Taiga and I… seem to have been drifting apart lately. I have several part-time jobs and I’m not home much, so the past three months have been especially hard for us.” He smiled again with squinted eyes, suddenly looking much older. Kuroko hadn’t noticed the small circles under his eyes earlier, but now they were quite prominent. “That’s all.” He quickly left the room, as though he was barely able to hold himself together… which Kuroko assumed was indeed the case.

_ “Several part-time jobs”? I thought Kagami-kun’s father had a good full-time job in America and was coming home to work for the same company, but here in Japan... Was he fired? _

 

_***_

 

Kuroko was finally allowed to take a nap after the Kagamis left. Apart from the glow from the heart monitor and the thin lines of sunlight coming from behind the blinds, the room was dark.

He stared at the sunlight lines in yearning, itching to see the outside again.

_ I should have asked the nurse to open them for me, even if for just a bit… But perhaps it’s for the best; I’m so tired… _

He finally drifted off as he heard footsteps.

 

_ *** _

 

Kagami, about ten minutes after leaving Kuroko’s room, barged right back into it.

_ “Gah!”  _ He hadn’t expected it to be so dark. He flipped on the light switch and closed the door.

_ Okay good, there he is! I’m in the right room, and we’re finally alone! Can’t believe I forgot to tell him about this though... _

He opened his mouth to warn of Hanamiya, but what he saw stopped him.

Kuroko was sitting upright in bed, his eyes wide and concentrating. He was looking straight ahead at the opposite wall.

Kagami looked at it too, but saw nothing--just a normal blank wall. When he turned back towards the bed, Kuroko was leaning forward and he seemed to be muttering something under his breath. He looked more relaxed, but still focusing on… supposedly  _ something. _

_ What the hell? _

“Are you half asleep or something?”

No response. Kuroko continued muttering and staring at something that wasn’t there.

Kagami stepped on over to the bed and waved his hand in front of Kuorko’s face, but still had no reaction.

He turned his head and leaned closer so his ear was inches from Kuroko’s mouth, but he couldn’t hear anything.

_ Is he even  _ whispering,  _ or just  _ mouthing  _ words? He’s perfectly quiet. _

_...Wait. _

He straightened his posture and looked at the heart monitor, suddenly aware of how silent the room was.

Four perfectly straight lines appeared on the screen, the numbers all reading “0”. 

His heart skipped a beat.  _ “Wh-what?!?” _

He frantically looked at Kuroko, who kept muttering silent gibberish and was clearly alive, then back at the still machine.

_ No way… That’s impossible, right?? _

_ “Kuroko, snap outta-!” _ He roughly grabbed hold of his friend’s shoulder.

Kuroko froze and met Kagami’s eyes, his own wide and frightened. Kagami lessened his grip. Kuroko sharply gasped, the end of his inhale being cut short, as though someone was choking him.

As Kagami let go, the once silent room was suddenly filled with shrill beeping and Kuroko’s fragmented breathing.

 

_ *** _

 

Kagami paced continuously in a small circle in front of Kuroko’s door with his hands tightly gripping the inside of his pockets, having been kicked out by nurses as they piled in to try and calm down Kuroko as he layed in bed, hyperventilating. They had been in there for a few minutes now, but Kagami’s legs were already sore and felt like they had been walking for hours.

As he completed his 50th(ish) lap around his invisible circle, he heard a familiar voice behind him:  _ “What happened?” _

Kagami abruptly stopped, almost falling over in the process, then turned around to find Aomine standing in his own room’s doorway, with the door cracked open just enough to see his full face.

The redhead tiptoed over to Aomine, subconsciously trying to keep quiet in case peeking outside of his door would still cause him trouble.

He half-shrugged, letting his tense shoulders stay up and near his ears as he mumbled, “I dunno. I was just visiting him and he was acting weird… Next thing I know, when I get his attention he started freaking out!”

“Huh?” Aomine’s eyes flashed with worry. “Whaddya mean, ‘he was acting weird’?”

But Kuroko’s door slid open, so Aomine quickly shut his without another word.

Kagami turned to the nurses as one of them approached him.

“Is… he’s OK, right?”

“We injected a sedative, so technically, yes. We think he was having a panic or anxiety attack, and we were unable to calm him down in any other way.” Her eyes narrowed. “So what were you doing in his room? I heard that he should have been resting without any visitors.”

“Oh… um, sorry.” Kagami looked beyond the nurse’s shoulder and tried to peer into Kuroko’s cracked door, but wasn’t able to actually see anything. “I had to tell him something.”

_...Wait. Why the hell was I in there again?! Shit, I can’t even remember what I was gonna say…! _

The nurse sighed. “Well, even if it’s that important, you’ll have to wait until he’s awake and we run a few tests, at least. Now, we’re understaffed today, so if you’ll excuse me…” She bowed and quickly made her leave down the hall.

A male nurse entered the hall from Kuroko’s room, closing the door behind him.

“He’ll be out for an hour or two. If you leave your name at the front desk, someone will be able to tell you when he’s awake and stable.”

Kagami saw something out of the corner of his eye: Aomine’s door opened and closed.

“Y-yeah, thanks…”

A vague figure passed behind Kagami and the nurse, the latter facing the former and totally oblivious, then Kuroko’s door silently and slowly opened and closed as Kagami stalled by starting to ask the nurse if he knew what may have caused Kuroko to act up.

“Well, we’ve been told of his situation, so he may be experiencing post-traumatic stress or having feelings of self-guilt over what happened to his parents.”

Kagami blinked. “Uh, what? Self-guilt??” 

“...He didn’t say much, but at one point he kept whispering,  _ ‘I’m sorry’.” _

 

_ I’m sorry, Tetsu… that I couldn’t find you sooner. I let you end up in a hospital bed. This isn’t where you should be! _

Aomine slowly inched towards Kuroko, laying in bed, seemingly lifeless despite the beep of the heart monitor next to him.

The room was dim, with only the small lamp on the nightstand next to the bed and the machine giving off light. Despite Kuroko being directly in that light, Aomine still had a hard time seeing him clearly. He could see how boney Kuroko’s face looked and had the impression that his skin was paler than usual, but beyond that, he could barely even make out where his closed eyelids were. Kuroko’s face looked like a faded Impressionistic painting, burry and distant. Even after wiping his eyes, Aomine still couldn’t quite see much.

_ Kagami said he was “acting up” before… What the hell happened?? Is that why he’s asleep? Did they…  _ forcibly  _ put ‘im to sleep? _

He looked towards the window. Cracks of light escaped from the corners of the blinds.

_ It’s so depressing in here… Why the hell’re the blinds not up?! _

He walked over and finally pulled them up, squinting back at the sunlight from overhead.

_ If this doesn’t wake him up…  _ He turned to look at Kuroko, who looked less distant but still very much unconscious.  _...then yeah, they sedated him. _

Kuroko was now a little more visible, but Aomine was right in assuming how pale and skeletal he was. The sunlight made him look slightly more alive, but it otherwise only accentuated his hollow cheekbones, the small grey circles underneath his eyes, his furrowed brow…

_ He looks like he’s having a nightmare. After all this time,  _ this  _ is how I end up seeing him... _

Aomine approached the bed again, taking note of the soft beeping getting slightly faster.

_ Is the sedative wearing off? But it’s only been a few minutes… _

Kuroko’s face looked strained, as though he was truly having a bad dream. Once appearing almost lifeless and completely still, his chest suddenly rose and fell repeatedly at quick intervals, and he frowned even more.

_ “Tetsu?”  _ Aomine finally whispered aloud, now inches from the bed.

Kuroko’s breathing slowed, and his face appeared calm again.

His mouth opened.

_ “Aomine-kun.”  _ His voice was soft but clear.

Aomine held his breath.  _ But his eyes are still closed… What the hell’s going on? Is he “acting up” again?! _

_ “...No one’s there? But I’m certain I heard someone…”  _ Kuroko frowned again, keeping his eyes closed. His head turned to face a stunned Aomine.  _ “Who’s there?”  _ He used his thin arms to slowly push himself up into a sitting position; they were shaking a little.

Kuroko then pushed himself back an inch or so to be supported by the pillows behind him before reaching out towards Aomine with his right hand.

His eyes were still shut as he repeated,  _ “Who’s there?” _

Aomine took a step back.

_ Wait. What am I doing, what the hell’s wrong with me?? _

Kuroko somehow heard Aomine’s bear foot hit the tile floor and paused, his eyebrows raised and his mouth slightly ajar.  _ “I was right.”  _ He fully extended his arm and fingers, stretching and leaning towards Aomine. His features sank.  _ “But it’s not Aomine-kun, is it.” _

Aomine still could not bring himself to move, to reach out for Kuroko’s hand. As confused as he was by Kuroko’s apparent refusal to just open his eyes and see who was there, he was afraid of what could transpire from touching him in any way. He looked so fragile and skinny, like he could collapse in on himself at any time.

_ I should’ve known something was up back then. Suddenly asking me to take care of his dog… The more I think about it, the more I realize that he  _ sounded _ like he was worried about something! I knew it… I knew it at the time, but all I did was tease him, and then he just hung up!  _ He clenched his fists as his heart started to pound.  _ I was so useless back then… and even now…! _

His head was throbbing horribly, like on the night he overdosed. But there wasn’t any medicine nearby to help him this time--he was stuck.

_...No. What am doing?  _ He gritted his teeth and started to move his arm.

_ Since when did I overthink things so much?? _

Kuroko gasped just as their fingers were a centimeter apart.

_ “Hanamiya??” _

_ Huh?! _

He moved his hand forward to grab Kuroko’s, wanting to give it a good yank to snap him out of it, but Kuroko retracted his arm.

_ “What did you  _ do  _ to me? Why can’t I open my eyes??” _

It was amazing how expressive even Kuroko could get, and without his eyes no less! His face was tense with apparent fear, his eyebrows slightly raised.

_ “I still can’t even move my legs. I’ve accepted that I never will again, so I don’t mind being paralyzed… but I want to keep my sight. This… this isn’t what we agreed on!” _

_ What the hell is he talking about?! What’s this about that sadist?! _

He leaned towards Aomine once more, swaying.  _ “Give it back, please…”  _ he pleaded as he reached out again.  _ “Give me back my  _ sight!”

He started to fall off the edge of the bed; Aomine instinctively dove with his arms outstretched.

His knees hit the cruel tile with a hard and painful  _ thump,  _ causing his eyes to water slightly as he squeezed them shut, but he felt a boney and light body in his shaking arms.

_ I did it…? _

He opened his eyes but looked up and away from where he assumed Kuroko’s face was as he rose and gently set him back on the bed.

_ I finally  _ did  _ something… for him. _

He started to back away when a cold hand tightly gripped his forearm.

He finally looked down at Kuroko’s face, and found himself staring into his  _ open _ and tearful eyes as well.

Although Kuroko could not have seen Aomine earlier, Aomine knew that those eyes had been lied to. They were just as he remembered them: round and sky blue, and  _ hurt. _ He and the other “Miracles” had hurt them so many times in the past, and yet…

Kuroko began to smile through his tears, letting go of Aomine’s now sore arm.

_...but no matter how much people hurt him, he never holds a grudge against anyone. _

The image of Kuroko grew blurry again; Aomine could barely hear him say his name.

He couldn’t bring himself to try and look at Kuroko, so he looked towards the window instead, almost blinded by its afternoon light.

_ “I’m sorry… Tetsu…!” _


	8. Flickered

The male nurse made his leave, and Kagami was about to sneak back into Kuroko’s room when he heard a familiar, sneering voice from down the hall say:

“You shouldn’t’ve interrupted him.”

Kagami whipped around and suddenly remembered why he was in Kuroko’s room just minutes ago.

_ “Hanamiya…!”  _ He clenched his fists, disgusted by the sadist’s ugly smirk.

“He’s gonna have a hard time holding on from here on out,” he added as he continued walking towards Kagami, clearly not intimidated despite the size difference.

“What the hell did you  _ say  _ to him?! He’s been through enough already!”

Hanamiya stopped walking, just a few feet from Kagami, and his smirk faded. He suddenly looked bored.

_ “Sigh,  _ I don’t feel like explaining. Why don’t you ask him?” He rose his arm and pointed his thumb towards Kuroko’s door. “He should be awake by now.”

“...Huh? Tch, they sedated him--”

“That won’t work anymore. Not since you stopped him,” Hanamiya interrupted with a cold gaze. His already slanted eyes narrowed some more and his lips twisted upward into another sneer.  _ “For once, I can put the blame on someone else.” _

He slipped his hands into his pockets and slowly strolled past Kagami. The redhead himself started to turn to confront him yet again, but he was stopped by Hanamiya’s hand abruptly grabbing his shoulder… and gripping it quite tightly.

_ “I really did try being nice for a change, Kagami Taiga,”  _ he muttered. “But you just  _ had  _ to go in there and screw everything over, didn’t you?”

Kagami began to shake, feeling how cold Hanamiya’s hand was through his shirt. He peered into his memory, trying to decipher what was meant by him “interrupting” Kuroko.

And he remembered how Kuroko had been saying something he couldn’t hear… and the heart monitor had stopped working…

Hanamiya gripped tighter, making Kagami shiver.

_ “In about a week and half, give or take, we’ll find out how the half-finished ritual affected him.” _

He let go, and the lights flickered out.

 

Kuroko was glowing, bathed in light. His smile was sweet and his eyes were wide and joyful… His whole face was shining in the sunlight coming in through the window.

Upon his request, Aomine helped Kuroko into his wheelchair and rolled him over to the window so he could see the sun. They had barely said anything else to each other. Perhaps an outsider would have found this awkward, but Aomine felt comfortable and relieved in this warm silence they shared together, just being in each other’s company for the first time in three months.

And not to mention that Kuroko’s reaction to seeing daylight was priceless. Despite being so thin and pale, despite being confined to a  _ wheelchair _ , Aomine never expected him to look so happy and radiant.

Kuroko pressed his palm against the glass.

_ “Warm…”  _ he muttered, looking at it in awe.

Aomine let out a chuckle in spite of himself, breaking the silence.

Kuroko blinked and finally looked at him. “What?”

“Ah…!”  _ Oops.  _ He awkwardly glanced out the window, wondering why Kuroko found the boring view of the parking lot to be so amazing. “Well… You’re just acting like you haven’t looked outside of a window for a while…” He nervously looked back at Kuroko, whose smile was gone.

_ Wait. Don’t tell me… _

“Oh. S-sorry…”

“Aomine-kun is apologizing a lot today,” Kuroko stated matter-of-factly in his old deadpanned voice, making Aomine relax. Clearly his personality didn’t suffer too much. “It’s frustrating to have heard those words so much lately. You all should find more interesting things to talk about beside how  _ sorry _ you are,” he added with a bit of edge in his voice.

Aomine tensed up. Something stung him from that last sentence.

Kuroko sighed deeply. “But whatever it is you’re sorry for… I forgive you.” He smiled again, albeit not as sweetly as before. “You let me see the sun again.”

Now it was Aomine’s turn to look at something ordinary in awe. Kuroko, whom he normally saw as nothing more than a supporting shadow, was now illuminating the room in conjunction with the sunlight. All of the doubts Aomine had earlier evaporated instantly upon seeing Kuroko’s calm expression.

Perhaps all really  _ was _ forgiven.

“Tetsu-”

The room suddenly got darker. 

“What the-!” Aomine whirled around and scanned the dimmer room.

There was plenty of light coming from the window, but the lamp on the nightstand was out.

The machines’ screens were completely dark as well.

Kuroko had turned in his seat to look too, and he gasped.  _ “A power outage?” _

The door opened with a harsh  _ bam,  _ and someone stormed inside.

It was Kagami, looking almost as pale as Kuroko, with visibly large beads of sweat rolling down his forehead.

“K-Kagami-kun…?”

Kagami stumbled closer to Aomine and Kuroko. “Kuroko… y-you’re…  _ awake??”  _ He was trembling as he spoke. He dropped to his knees abruptly, making Aomine jump, and muttered,  _ “What the hell’s going on…” _

Aomine then became aware of the distant shouting and running footsteps, probably from panicked nurses and patients, coming from the hallway. He could even hear someone crying out for help.

“It’s alright,” Kuroko said. “The power will come back on in a few seconds.”

The other two teens looked at him in bewilderment. How could he possibly know--?

There was a flash, then light came on again and stayed on. The overhead lights, the lamp, the machines (not showing much since Kuroko wasn’t “hooked up” to them)... Everything was back on, just as Kuroko had said. Even the hallway was illuminated once more.

Kuroko smiled. “See?”

Now it was Aomine’s turn to ask what the hell was happening while Kagami stayed knelt on the floor, looking up at Kuroko as though he were a ghost.

Kuroko furrowed his brow. “What happened? I’ve never seen you like this… Is Kagami-kun afraid of the dark?”

Aomine burst into laughter.

_ “Oi, Aomine-!” _

“A light’s afraid of the dark, huh? How’s it feel  _ now?”  _ Aomine jeered.

Kagami clenched his fists and fell silent, now looking angry and somewhat defeated instead of terrified.

“Um… what?” Kuroko asked.

“N-nothing…” Kagami looked back at Kuroko. “It’s nothing.”

“Yeah, sure,” Aomine said as he walked in between the other two, barely able to hide his grin.

_ Damn, this feels good! After all the hell he gave me earlier this month…! _

_ “Aomine-kun?” _

He was almost at the door, but that small, worried voice made him stop. He turned to face Kuroko, saw his anxious eyes, and suddenly didn’t want to leave.

But of course, he knew he had to. Even though the outage barely lasted a minute, this was a hospital with patients in critical condition. He was well aware that an outage, no matter how long, could  _ kill  _ someone, so nurses were bound to check up on their patients right away.

He made an effort to smile gently at Kuroko. “I’m just gonna get back in my room before they realize I’m gone.” He raised his hand in a still wave. “I’ll… see ya later, on my way out after I’m discharged.”

Kuroko relaxed and smiled again. “Oh, okay. See you.”

The door closed, leaving just him and Kagami, who was still on the floor.

Kuroko’s neck ached a bit from being twisted in his seat, trying to look at what was going on. He straightened himself out, facing the window along with his chair, and politely asked Kagami to turn him around so he could easily face him.

“O-oh, yeah… Sorry…”

Kuroko gripped the arms of the wheelchair.  _ That word again… Why do people suddenly-? _

“So uh, Kuroko…” Kagami interrupted his thoughts. He now sat on the edge of Kuroko’s bed, appearing nervous again. His eyes darted all over the place, occasionally landing on Kuroko. It was as if he was looking for something. “What were you doing… when I came in here earlier?”

Kuroko froze in shock, trying to keep a straight face.

_ He was here? He knows? ...No, otherwise he wouldn’t be asking me this.  _ He closed his eyes.  _ So he was the one who interrupted me… the reason I’ll never walk again.  _ He relaxed his grip on the arms.  _ I’m relieved. Knowing Hanamiya, there was probably a catch to his deal anyway, perhaps even worse than losing my sight. I was just so desperate then...  _

_ I knew that the ritual hadn’t worked since I still can’t walk, but it makes even more sense if it was only half-completed, I just didn’t know who could’ve been in here while I was doing it.  _

He opens them and calmly replies, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Kagami stared back at Kuroko for a few seconds, reading him (something Kuroko never thought he’d see hasty Kagami even  _ try _ to do). “Tch, you’re obviously lying. Does it have to do with Hanamiya? I ran into him earlier and…” He seemed to shrink a bit. “...that’s when the lights went out. It was real freaky, too weird for me to think it was a coincidence. I dunno why, but…” he tightly gripped the mattress, even tighter than how Kuroko gripped his blanket, “...I feel like  _ he  _ had something to do with it! Or at least, he has an idea of what’s going on with you.” His face formed a harsh scowl towards Kuroko. “And I’m sick of you keeping secrets from us! Why the hell can’t you just accept that we’re worried about you and let us  _ help??” _

Kuroko swallowed hard. He hadn’t expected this to get so out of hand.

“...You’re right. I owe you an explanation…”

Kagami raised his eyebrows. “Wait, seriously? It’s that easy??”

“Normally I wouldn’t confide in something like this to you, but…” Kuroko’s eyes wandered over to the pillow on his head, underneath the very edge of which he hid Murasakibara’s cookies. “...seeing everyone again today…” He sighed and looked up at the ceiling, trying to keep what he felt were tears inside. “It reminded me… of how lucky I really am… and how much I  _ trust _ you, Kagami-kun.”

There was silence for a few moments. Kuroko lowered his gaze--

The door abruptly opened, and in ran a couple nurses.

_ “Wh-wha…? You shouldn’t be in here! And what is he doing in a wheelchair?!” _

_ “We need to keep monitoring his vitals! You have to leave.” _

Kagami groaned and stood up as each nurse stood on either side of the door, waiting for him to comply.

“W-wait, Kagami-kun. Can you come back this evening?”

“Huh? Uh, yeah, I’m sure I can…”

“Good, and I’ll ask Aomine-kun to come as well when I see him later.”

Kagami’s eyebrow twitched as he glared down at Kuroko, clearly not thrilled by the news.

Kuroko ignored his reaction. “I’ll tell you both about what’s going on between me and Hanamiya.”

“...Alright, I’ll be here,” Kagami said with a soft smile.

Kuroko smiled back. It wasn’t often that he saw this kind expression from Kagami, but it was one of the main reasons he considered him such a dear friend.

“No more excuses, got it?” Kagami stepped towards Kuroko and held out a fist.

“Yes…” Kuroko’s fist met Kagami’s. “I promise.”


	9. Accident

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, um... some stuff... actually a LOT of stuff... is learned in this chapter. Does it seem rushed? Let me know what you think!

_ “Well, that’s just too bad, isn’t it? I wonder if some ‘accident’ were to happen to them…” _

 

Aomine, walking down the hospital’s hallway towards Kuroko’s room, recalled the conversation he had with him earlier:

_    “Aomine-kun, tell Kagami-kun to be here at 8:00 too.” _

_    “Huh? That bastard’s coming too?? But what’s this all about anyway?” _

_    “Well, remember when I um… had a seizure earlier?” _

_    ! So that’s what that was? “Y-yeah…” _

_    “...I have something I want to tell both of you, regarding what happened.” _

_    “...Huh. Well okay… I’ll be there.” _

Aomine turned towards his friend’s door and slid it open. Surprisingly, it was dark, so he felt for the switch on his right and flipped it on.

“Tetsu…? Huh?”

The bed was empty and unmade, and the wheelchair was gone from its corner next to the bed as well. This gave Aomine the impression that perhaps he was just using the restroom and would be back soon.

He pulled out his phone to check the time; it was 7:48.

_ I guess I  _ am  _ here a little early.  _ He strolled over to a stool against the wall and sat down for a few minutes.

Just when he was starting to get restless, his phone buzzed.

He had received a text from an unknown number, reading:

This is Kuroko. They finally gave me my phone back! 

Aomine blinked in surprise. He had almost forgotten that Kuroko even ever had one after giving up on trying to get in touch with him over the past few months.

_ Wait. What exactly happened to his phone? I’ll have to ask him later. _

He continued reading:

Anyway, I’m sorry, but I’ll be a few minutes late. See you son.

Another message popped up before he could even react to the typo.

*Soon.

Aomine chuckled. That was so like Kuroko, being so grammatically correct, even when texting people.

He replied:  Thats great! And dont worry about it, see ya in a bit

Upon hitting the send button, his eyelids grew heavy and he suddenly felt the urge to yawn. After letting himself do so, he decided to rest his eyes while waiting. It  _ had  _ been a long and exciting day…

 

He gets up from the stool and finds the room’s lights to be off again, but light streams in from the window.

The parking lot and sky are gone, replaced with another hospital room, identical to Kuroko’s.

Speaking of whom, Kuroko lies in the other room’s bed, staring directly at Aomine.

“Tetsu? The hell’re you doing? You’re in the wrong place,” Aomine says as he walks up to the window.

Kuroko blinks. After a brief pause, he sits up in bed and says something, but Aomine can’t hear anything.

_ ‘Shout it,’  _ he tries to yell back, but no sound comes from him either.

He tries speaking again, but still no familiar vibration from his vocal chords.

_ ‘What the hell…?’  _ he could only mouth. His throat felt tight, as though his voice was stuck inside of it.

Meanwhile, Kuroko keeps talking, his eyes growing wide and frightened as his lips continue to speak inaudible words, and Aomine keeps his mouth hanging open as he tries to say something, _ anything. _

Finally he gives up and tries reading Kuroko's lips, which look to be repeating the same sentence over and over.

Oddly enough, it comes naturally and he understands it immediately.

_ ‘Two-hundred twenty-two. _

_ ‘Hurry.’ _

Aomine looks at the other room’s door and sees Akashi walk in and reach for the light switch, and everything goes dark.

 

Aomine opened his eyes and stretched, feeling refreshed. He also felt like he had been awoken by something, given how the dream had such an abrupt ending. So he looked towards the hospital bed, expecting Kuroko to be there.

The bed was still empty; the wheelchair still gone too.

He checked his phone for the time: 8:38.

“Huh??” He jumped up, turned to the door and threw it open to look up and down the silent hallway. “This is  _ way _ more than ‘a few minutes late’...!”  _ Even Kagami’s not here yet... _

He slumped back into his seat with a sigh and texted Kuroko again:

Where are you??? Everything ok?

He hesitated to add the last part; he didn’t want it to seem like he cared  _ too  _ much. But he was worried nonetheless, and he felt he had the right to be, so he hit send.

He let out another yawn, suddenly feeling drowsy again with nothing happening, and closed his eyes for a bit, letting himself drift off once again.

**_Thump._ **

The sound wasn’t that loud, but it caused him to open his eyes and jump a little in his seat.

“Tetsu?”

The room was just as quiet and empty as before.

And the time on his phone read 9:03.

He slowly stood up.

_ No way… there’s no way he could be  _ this  _ late! _

_ Something must’ve happened. _

He entered the conversation he had with Kuroko on his phone and was about to text again, but a sudden realization stopped him, and he gasped.

_ Wait… If this is really Tetsu’s number, then it should already be under my contacts! I would’ve recognized it!! _

He rushed out into the hall.

_ Shit, I’m so stupid! Who the hell is actually texting me, huh?!? _

He wildly looked up and down the corridor, but still no one was there.

_ Where do I start looking…? Wait, Kagami might know! _

He almost drops his phone in his franticness as he proceeded to call him, his heart beginning to pound. He was all too used to not knowing where Kuroko was and what state he was in, but it made the situation no less frightening.

_ “What?”  _ Kagami groaned after answering the call.

“Hey Kagami, didn’t you show up here like an hour ago? Where did you and Tetsu go??”

_ “...Huh? You mean the hospital? The hell’re are you talking about, I’m home!” _

“Wh-what? But Tetsu said… don’t you remember me telling you, you dumbass?! Tetsu wanted us here at eight!”

_ “Bullshit, you didn’t tell me anything!”  _ Aomine could hear some noise in the background.  _ “So Kuroko wants us to be there, you said? And now you’re saying you can’t  _ find  _ him an _ hour _ later??” _

“Y-yeah…”  _ What’s going on? I remember texting him earlier! _

_ “Tch, of course not… Guess I should come over, seems you can’t do anything by yourself anymore, huh?” _

_ *beep* _

Aomine barely heard the last sentence, worrying much more about Kuroko than some personal insult from Kagami.

“Um… Excuse me… Aomine-kun?”

He looked up from his phone and saw Kuroko’s nurse walking towards him.

“Are you looking for Kuroko-kun? We moved him to room 222 upstairs, the people up front should have told you…”

He suddenly felt cold upon hearing the familiar number.

_ You’re kidding. _

_ I’ve been having weird dreams lately, sure, but I never thought they actually  _ meant  _ anything! _

“I’m sorry, but I have another patient to attend to, but I think once you go upstairs and follow the signs, it should be fairly self-explanatory…”

“Y-yeah, I can go by myself, thanks,” Aomine muttered as he walked past the nurse and made his way farther down the hall, towards the elevator.

_...Nah, it’s just a coincidence. What the hell am I so worried for?? _

_ Oh yeah, that reminds me… _

Turns out they moved him to a different room: 222. Heading up there now

After sending the message to Kagami, an empty elevator arrived and Aomine stepped in.

After the doors slid closed and the elevator began to move, his phone buzzed, notifying him of another message from the unknown number:

Should’ve taken the stairs. YOU’RE TOO SLOW

Aomine felt a hot rush of anger rise inside of him. He was just thinking about calling the number when the lights flickered out and the elevator suddenly jolted, causing him to drop his phone and nearly fall over.

The elevator was dark and had stopped moving.

_ “What the--you’re fucking kidding me!”  _ He scrambled for his phone, thankfully still open so he could see it, and used its light to locate the alarm button.

But nothing happened when he pressed it.

His phone buzzed again with yet another message from the unknown number:

Now that I literally have you as my captive audience, I’m about to call. You’d better answer. And don’t try calling for help, or “Tetsu” will pay for it.

The heat of anger Aomine felt earlier quickly cooled off to an ice-cold fear.

_ Did  _ he  _ do this? Is he with-?! _

His phone rang, the caller ID reading that same unknown number. He jumped and looked around the still obviously empty elevator before answering and slowly lifting the phone to his ear.

There were a million answers he needed in that moment, but he managed to stifle down his questions and let the self-proclaimed kidnapper speak first.

_ “...Not going to speak first, eh?”  _ a male’s deep and slippery voice softly asked from the other end.

Aomine was practically holding his breath.

_ “Alright. So be it. But I’ll need you to tell me something before I finally hang up. _

_ “But first, let me make a few things clear: that seizure Tetsuya had? That should be none of your concern. In fact, it should be the  _ least  _ of your concerns, given how little time he has left.” _

Aomine finally breathed again, this time with a sharp inhalation after processing the man’s last sentence.

“H-how did you…? What do ya mean by-??”

_ “Hush! I don’t like being interrupted. You can ask questions at the end.”  _ The voice suddenly sounded like a dry professor giving a lecture. And so he continued to sound for the rest of the largely one-sided conversation:

_ “ANYWAY. Now of course I would’ve known about his… little incident earlier today. I’ve been tracking his vitals and location ever since I let him go. _

_ “You see, Mr. Aomine Daiki, I am the one who kept Tetsuya Kuroko for the past few months, and then I put him on the basketball court where Mr. Kagami Taiga found him.” _

Aomine barely felt the sweat trickle down his forehead as he realized what the voice was saying.

If Aomine was this man’s “hostage” in the elevator, then he was not his first.

_ “And yes, I know about you and Kagami and all of his other friends, because of course I made him tell me. I knew we would be together for the next few months, so I thought it vital to know what persons in his life have influenced him. You and Kagami seem to have had the most influence, so I found it rather appropriate that you two would be the ones to learn of Tetsuya’s… issues today. _

_ “I’m sure you’re wondering about what all of that meant, along with the power outage, etc… But I’m not stupid enough to tell you everything, so let’s just say that, well…  _

_ “He may  _ seem  _ like he’s in good health, but Tetsuya is actually dying. I returned him to you and his other friends in hopes that a hospital could do a better job of taking care of him than I ever could in his final days, and perhaps even save him from an early death.” _

Aomine began to sway, suddenly feeling weak… but he was swaying out of both shock and the fact that the elevator was moving again.

_ “Sorry, I suppose that’s a lot to process, isn’t it? Why don’t we take this to the roof? Besides, it’ll look suspicious if the elevator is stuck for too long.” _

The vibrations underneath Aomine’s feet stopped and the door opened at last. The sight of the roof and city lights from below and afar helped him feel more grounded as he stepped out of the elevator and finally asked one of his many questions:

“How… what the hell did you  _ do  _ to him?? He’s  _ dying?!” _

He was shaking again. Good thing the rooftop was completely empty, although Aomine was hoping to find the owner of this mystery voice up there.

_ So this guy’s somehow able to hack into these elevators, and he knows where I am… Did he cause the outage earlier too? _

_ “Now now, Aomine, settle down. I said it’s possible he could be saved, right? In fact, his face had a little more color to it when I visited him earlier today--” _

“You WHAT?! What did you-?”

_ “I said ENOUGH, Aomine! All I did was erase his memories of his seizure and the outage from this afternoon. Therefore he also no longer remembers the meeting he requested with you and Kagami this evening. I even made sure he forgot he ever saw me again, because I think I may have traumatized him further otherwise... I did the same to that large redhead, in fact, after he went home, since I know his address. But I don’t know anyone else’s, and neither does Tetsuya… So when you came to visit him this evening, that was the only chance for me to try and do it while you were sleeping…” _

Aomine felt as though his blood turned to ice.

The kidnapper of Kuroko, and perhaps his parents’  _ murderer,  _ had been there, in the same room as him, and he had decided to take a  _ nap… _

_ “...But I couldn’t get it to work on you for some reason. And no, I’m not going to tell you what ‘it’ is, so you can withhold that question. I just needed you to know all of this so I could convince you to not tell anyone about what happened today, including Tetsuya himself, or I could choose to take him back  _ **_immediately.”_ **

By this point, Aomine was frozen in place, paranoid that this man didn’t just know where he was generally, but could somehow  _ see  _ him too. But he knew that the man wasn’t nearby--he had glanced around the roof after getting off the elevator to know that.

_ “And I don’t want you to think I’m bluffing, Aomine. I never lie to anyone but Tetsuya. I want you to understand just how serious I am when I say I can take him away again. In fact, I could take other people too, if I wanted. I know you and your teammates go to Touou Academy, Kagami and his at Seirin… I even know that your mother works at Sakura Communica--” _

“SHUT UP!” Aomine snapped at the mention of his mother. “You…  _ degenerate bastard…”  _ He asked another one of his questions, the potential answer of which he feared the most, through clenched teeth: _ “You killed his parents, didn’t you?!” _

_ “...Yes. _

_ “And I’ll kill again, if necessary. It all pins on your cooperation, Aomine. You can either ruin and/or end the lives of your loved ones, or you can say nothing and let everyone resume their emotional recovery, and Tetsuya can resume his physical recovery... granted he can survive for another week or so. I’d say if he regains some strength in the next few days, his chances of survival are high…” _

Aomine was barely listening, his mind racing, trying to grasp the idea of talking to the man who ripped Kuroko’s parents away from him, and him away from his friends.

He dropped to his knees and whispered,  _ “What do you want? Why are you telling me all this?” _

_ “Well you see, it’s actually pretty bad for me if you know about the seizure and outage. It’s fine if the nurses know, because they don’t know about the person who is undoubtedly the source of today’s oddities. So like I said at the beginning of this conversation, I need you to tell me something before I hang up:  _

_ “Do you know if Hanamiya Makoto visited Tetsuya at any point today? Or even if Tetsuya just mentioned him?” _

_ Hanamiya?  _ Him  _ again? _

Aomine hesitated, remembering how Kuroko thought he was Hanamiya when he first saw him today. He didn’t want this man to win. Would he be able to tell he was lying?

_ “And if he  _ did  _ mention him, were his eyes closed?” _

Aomine gasped again, something he quickly regretted.  _ How does he…? _

_ “I see. Thank you, that gives me all the information I need. Now good night, and hopefully for you  _ goodbye, _ since you so badly want me to ‘shut up’. And don’t call me or message me back, or else you may notice a sharp decline in Tetsuya’s health.” _

And before Aomine realized what was happening, there was a defiant  _ *click*,  _ and then silence.

Unfortunately for Aomine, who was still trying to make sense of everything he just heard, that silence only lasted a few seconds before he received a message from Kagami:

Where are you?? Im in 222 and Kuroko isnt here!

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Readers... So yes, it's been a while, hasn't it? I know there are a lot of stories out there that go even longer without updating, but I still feel guilty for letting 6 MONTHS pass by. So to explain the long delay: basically I got busier than expected with real-life stuff at the beginning of the year, and when that was behind me I had lost the motivation to continue writing. For the past couple of months, I've been wondering if it was even worth resuming. I figured no one was really reading or caring about this anymore anyway, so what's the point?  
> But then I got a comment on the first chapter from TrashPanda13 saying that they "hate everything" because their "poor baby" (who I'm assuming is Kuroko) is so hurt in this story. If there's one thing I enjoy doing, it's emotionally messing with the audience, so that comment was a pleasant surprise for me! And a few days later, I got Kudos from a guest! So I figured that there WERE still at least SOME people enjoying this story, and thus I was motivated to continue, and here we are. So special thanks to TrashPanda13 and the guest who sent Kudos for bringing me back!  
> I've decided to no longer make estimations on when I'll update. To be honest, I almost wrote myself into a corner last chapter and managed to get myself out of it in this one, so I no longer want to update just because it's been a certain amount of time since the last chapter was posted. Rather, I want to update only when I think I've written something that progresses the story in the way I originally wanted it to. I have this whole thing planned out in mah brain, so it's just a matter of following that blueprint while deviating from it as little as possible. I don't want to waste anyone's time.  
> So thank you so much for your patience, and I CAN promise that there is indeed more to come!  
> With love,  
> -Zemba


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